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ANITA  D.  S.  BLAKE 


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MEMOIRS 

OP 

HENUI  IV.   OF   FRANCE 


/ 

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ni>cinoirc^  of  Mcnri  HID,  king  of  France 

AND     NAVARRE,    BY     THE     COURT 
HISTORIAN   OF  /.OT/S    X/\'. 


I 
I 


PRINTED   FOR 

MERRILL    dv    BAKER 

XF.ir    VOA'A' 


EDIT  10 X  DE    (;RA\D   IAWE 


LIMITED    TO   OAK    TIIOUSAXD   COPIES 


i\\> 


rVFOGRAPHY,  ELECTROTYrtSC.  AND 
rRISTISG  BY  THE  COLONIAL  PRESS. 
C.  H.  SIMOSDS  <5-'  a>..  ROSTOS.  V  S.  A. 


CTFT 


TRANSLATOR'S   ADDRESS. 

To   Ills    Sacred   ^Fajesty,   Chaules   II.,  Kino    op 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland. 

Dread  ?m  :  —  With  all  that  humble  reverence  that 
becomes  a  lowly  but  loyal  8ul)ject  and  servant  to  his 
Bovereitni  lord  and  master,  cast  I  at  your  feet  this 
present  Address.  Those  stars  that  move  in  the  lowest 
orb  receive  tlieir  li<2:ht  and  lustre  from  the  sun,  as 
well  as  those  that  wander  in  a  more  exalted  heaven, 
and  therefore  may  possibly  1)0  capable  of  returning 
some  ^-ateful  influences,  though  not  in  so  great  a 
quantity,  yet  in  a  quality  as  pure  and  candid. 

ITowever,  all  my  courage  could  not  have  ins])ired 
me  with  a  presumption  to  present  anything  of  mine 
to  80  glorious  a  majesty,  had  it  not  borne  in  its  fron- 
tispiece the  name  of  Ilenri  the  Great,  your  royal 
and  renowned  grandfather,  —  a  prince  of  so  sublime 
a  virtue,  of  so  heroic  a  courage,  of  such  activity 
in  war  and  such  prudence  in  jwace,  that  be  justly 
became  both  the  love  and  terror  of  the  ago  he 
lived  in. 

T 


1 


'G5 


vi  TRANSLATOR'S   ADDRESS. 

And,  great  Sir,  give  me  leave  to  tell  you  that  never 
did  the  life  of  any  prince  since  the  Creation  bear  so 
equal  a  parallel  with  your  Majesty's  as  that  of  this 
renowned  king.  If  your  miseries  and  misfortunes 
have  exceeded  his,  God  hath  made  it  by  evident 
demonstrations  appear  that  he  intends  to  make  your 
glories  and  liappincss  as  far  surpass  those  of  your 
royal  grandfather.  You  both  had  Leaguers  armed 
with  rebellion,  obstinacy,  and  ambition,  under  a  cloak 
of  zeal  to  religion,  to  oppose  you ;  and  you  both, 
assisted  by  a  miraculous  providence  of  Heaven,  over- 
came them.  You  both  by  arms  long  struggled  for 
your  rights ;  but,  as  if  God  had  intended  you  both 
for  true  fathers  of  your  countries  and  the  foundations 
whereon  he  would  settle  an  absolute  happinc<58  in 
your  kingdoms,  so  long  afflicted  with  civil  wai-s  and 
those  terrors  which  attend  them,  he  brought  you  both 
to  spotless  thrones,  unbesmcared  with  blood. 

How  soon  was  France  redeemed  from  those  plagues 
it  so  long  had  endured,  at  the  entrance  into  the  chair 
of  royalty  of  the  great  Henri,  who,  as  a  rising  sun, 
darted  forth  those  salutiferous  rays  which  shone  upon 
and  enriched  the  remotest  parts  of  his  territories! 
How  soon  were  all  factions  dissipated !  and  how  soon 
did  he  by  his  prudent  conduct  reconcile  the  most 
obstinate  spirits !  In  fine,  in  how  short  time  was 
France,  from  a  den  of  atheists,  thieves,  and  robbers, 
become  the  nursery  of  piety,  arts,  and  industry ! 


TRANSLATOR'S    ADDRESS.  tU 

England,  dread  Sovereign,  suffered  under  the  same 
fate  her  neighbouring  sister  had  long  sinee  been  sub- 
ject to,  when  Ueaven  was  graciously  pleased  to  restore 
you  to  your  crown ;  and  you  have  already  made  us 
not  only  hope,  but  see,  that  you  have  designed  to 
restore  to  us  such  happiness  that  we  cannot  justly 
envy  those  which  France  enjoyed  under  her  beloved 
Henri.  How  well  have  you  settled  both  our  Church 
and  State !  How  well  have  you  reconciled  our  dis- 
sensions! With  how  much  too  great  a  mercy  (give 
me,  Sir,  leave  to  fear  so)  have  you  pardoned  the  most 
obstinate  of  your  enemies!  And  how  may  we  hope 
(if  the  malice  of  those  ol)stinate  spirits  yet  disturb 
not  our  tranquillity)  to  enjoy  under  your  government 
the  most  happy  and  flourishing  days  that  ever  Great 
Britain  beheld ! 

But,  Sir,  that  I  may  conclude,  and  not  seem  tedi- 
ous to  your  Majesty,  may  the  God  of  Heaven  insjjire 
into  the  heaiis  of  your  pcoi)le  a  true  sense  of  your 
goodness  and  paternal  love  to  them  ;  may  he  correct 
the  unjust  malice  of  those  who  yet  dare  to  be  your 
enemies ;  may  he  incline  you  still  to  prosecute  such 
maxims  of  good  government,  both  in  Church  and 
State,  as  may  make  both  equally  flourish ;  may  he 
augment  your  glories,  and  raise  them  above  tliose 
of  your  grandfather,  Henri  the  Fourth  ;  may  he  bless 
us  all,  by  giving  you  a  long  and  happy  reign;  and 
when   tliat  alllictiou   (though   late)    comes  to   us   of 


viii  TRANSLATOR'S   ADDRESS. 

losing  you,  may  we  yet  be  made  blessed  in  that  suc- 
cession from  your  loins  that  may  endure  for  ever. 

Thus  prays,  Sir,  the  humblest  and  most  faithful, 
though  the  meanest  of  your  Majesty's  subjects  and 

servants, 

J.  D. 


THE 

AUTHOR  TO    THE   READER. 

Reader: — Tliis 'History  of  Henri  the  Great  is  only 
a  small  part  of  the  summary  or  epitome  of  the  gen- 
eral history  of  France,  which  I  have  composed  by  the 
command  of  the  King  and  for  the  instruction  of  his 
Majesty.  It  having  been  my  intention  only  to  gather 
together  all  that  might  serve  to  instruct  a  great 
prince  and  render  him  cai)able  of  reigning  ■well,  I 
have  not  thought  it  convenient  to  enter  into  a  particu- 
lar recital  of  things,  or  to  recount  at  length  all  wars 
and  affairs  as  historians  do  who  are  to  write  for  all 
sorts  of  persons.  I  have  only  taken  the  sum,  and 
recounted  those  circumstjinces  I  have  judged  the 
fairest  and  tlie  most  instructive,  leaving  apart  all 
the  rest,  to  slKjrton  matter,  and  to  give  in  epitome 
an  account  of  all  that  passed,  which  might  inform  the 
mind  of  the  King  without  surcharging  his  memory. 
Tliis  hath  been  my  design  ;  if  it  hath  not  succeeded 
so  well  as  could  be  wished,  I  hope,  reader,  that  my 
endeavour  may  aj»pear  praiseworthy.  I  doubt  not  but 
there  are  in  tliis  work  some  mistakes  which  I  may  not 
have  perceived,  but  which  cannot  escape  eyes  more 

ix 


X       THE  AUTHOR  TO  THE  READER. 

clear-sighted.  The  history  is  accompanied  with  so 
many  circumstances  tliat  it  is  almost  impossible  not 
to  have  been  deceived  in  some ;  yet  I  believe  I  have 
written  nothing  for  which  I  have  not  my  warrant. 
And  if  you  find  in  any  author  the  contrary  of  what  I 
have  said,  I  entreat  you  to  consider  that  our  historians 
do  in  many  things  so  differ  among  themselves  that  he 
who  takes  the  judgment  of  one  must  necessarily  con- 
tradict the  other.  In  this  diversity  I  have  followed 
those  whom  I  believed  the  best  and  most  assured.  I 
acknowledge  likewise  that  I  could  not  refrain  borrow- 
ing from  them  whole  paragraphs  where  they  have 
pleased  me,  and  where  I  have  thought  I  could  better 
explain  myself  by  their  expressions  than  my  own. 
However,  if  this  be  a  fault,  it  is  but  a  light  one,  and 
ought  to  be  pardoned,  since  ingenuously  confessed. 
For  other  more  remarkable  ones  I  may  have  com- 
mitted, I  presume  on  your  goodness  that,  reader,  you 
will  not  treat  me  with  the  utmost  rigour,  but  tliat 
you  will  have  as  much  indulgence  for  me  as  I  have 
in  this  work  had  zeal  for  the  service  of  my  King  and 
affection  for  the  good  of  France. 


b 


THE 

TRANSLATOR   TO   THE. READER. 

Behold  here  a  History  compiled  by  one  of  the 
most  able,  and  (let  me  testify  thus  much)  one  of 
the  most  moderate  and  impartial  pens  of  Europe.  It 
was  fitted  for  the  hand  of  a  king  ;  and  is  the  life  of 
one  whom  his  own  actions  will  declare  to  have  better 
deserved  the  name  of  Great  than  that  proud  Macedo- 
nian who  wept  that  he  had  no  more  worlds  to  con- 
quer. For  though  he  gained  not  such  signal  victories, 
nor  overran  so  many  countries,  yet  he  was  possessed 
of  more  virtues  than  tlie  other  of  cities ;  and  vii-tue  is 
the  fairest  mother  of  tnie  greatness.  But,  reader,  I 
forestall  thy  delight  in  its  reading:  go  on,  tlicrefore, 
but  ^vith  deliberation. 

J.  D. 


TO  THE   KING. 

Sire  :  —  That  respect  and  love  which  all  good 
Frenchmen  have  still  preserved  for  the  ha])py  mem- 
ory of  King:  Henri  the  Great,  your  grandfather,  rep- 
resents itself  as  vivid  to  theii  rememl)rance  as  if  he 
still  reigned,  and  renown  preserves  the  sjilendom*  of 
his  fair  actions  in  the  heai*ts  and  mouths  of  men  as 
fresh  and  entirely  as  in  the  time  of  his  triumphs. 
But  we  may  say,  moreover,  when  we  consider  your 
^[ajcsty,  that  he  has  regained  a  new  life  in  your  per- 
son, and  that  he  makes  himself  daily  be  seen  imdcr 
a  visage  yet  more  august,  and  by  virtues  which  ajn 
pear  as  redoubtable  to  the  enemies  of  France  as  they 
are  sweet  and  channing  to  its  people. 

In  truth,  Sire,  that  praiseworthy  impatience  which 
your  Majesty  has  testified  (when  I  presented  our  his- 
tory to  your  reading)  to  come  to  this  glorious  reign, 
and  for  it  to  leave  behind  seven  or  eight  others  of 
kings  that  preceded  him,  is  a  most  certain  proof  that 
you  desire  him  for  your  model,  and  that  you  have  re- 
solved to  study  his  conduct  and  conserve  it  in  the 

xiii 


xiv  TO    THE   KING. 

government  of  your  estates.  Your  happy  birth,^  and 
your  inclinations  wholly  royal,  lead  you  to  it ;  the 
hopes  and  votes  of  your  subjects  agree  to  it;  the 
necessities  of  your  kingdom,  afflicted  with  the  mis- 
eries of  the  longest  war  it  ever  sustained,  oblige  you 
to  it ;  and  Heaven  has  disposed  you  to  it  by  so  many 
graces  and  eminent  qualities  that  it  would  be  difficult 
for  you  not  to  follow  the  fair  examples  of  this  great 
monarch.  I  dare  likewise  say  (and  I  may  speak  it 
with  truth)  that  it  will  not  be  impossible  for  you  to 
surpass  him,  if  you  school  yourself  to  improve  well 
all  those  advantages  wherein  Heaven  has  endowed 
you  above  other  princes  of  your  age. 

Yes,  Sire,  Heaven  has  likewise  given  you  a  gen- 
erous soul,  good  and  beneficent ;  a  spirit  elevated  and 
capable  of  the  greatest  things ;  a  memory  happy  and 
facile ;  a  courage  heroic  and  martial ;  a  judgment  neat 
and  solid ;  a  strong  and  vigorous  health ;  but  you 
have,  moreover,  been  vouchsafed  one  advantage  the 
King,  your  grandfather,  never  had,  that  is,  a  majestic 
presence ;  an  air  and  port  almost  divine  ;  a  person 
and  beauty  worthy  the  empire  of  the  universe,  which 
attracts  the  eye  and  respect  of  all  the  world,  and 
which,  without  the  force  of  arms,  without  the  au- 
thority  of   commands,   will    attach   to   your   person 

1  Referring,  doubtless,  to  the  fact  that  Louis  XIV.  was  the  first-born 
after  twenty-three  years  of  his  parents'  wedded  life,  and  was  therefore 
called  Dieudonni. 


TO    THE    KING.  xv 

all    those  whom   your  Majesty  shall  admit  to  your 
presence. 

1  will  not  speak  of  the  prosperity  of  this  kingdom 
since  your  happy  advancement  to  the  crown :  how 
you  have  been  proclaimed  conqueror  as  soon  as  king ; 
how,  by  the  helpful  counsels  of  your  great  ministers, 
your  frontiers  have  been  extended  on  all  sides,  and 
your  enemies  everywhere  defeated;  but  I  ought  not 
to  forget  that  singular  grace  which  Heaven  has  con- 
ferred on  you,  by  instructing  you  in  the  Catholic  relig- 
ion and  in  true  piety,  through  the  continual  diligence 
and  example  of  the  Queen  your  mother;  this  was 
without  doubt  wanting  to  the  youth  of  our  Henri. 

You  cannot,  Sire,  with  so  fair  a  disposition,  with 
so  many  superabundant  favours  of  Heaven,  be  con- 
tent to  rest  on  the  glory  and  reputation  of  this  great 
prince.  Remember,  if  you  please,  that  you  have  done 
me  the  honour  to  tell  me  more  than  once  that  you 
ardently  aspire  to  a  like  perfection,  and  that  you  have 
no  greater  ambition.  All  France,  which  at  present 
has  its  eyes  upon  you,  rejoices  to  see  the  effects 
already  second  your  desires,  and  that  you  strive  as 
earnestly  to  imitate  as  you  have  passionately  desired 
to  hear  the  recital  of  so  fair  a  life. 

Your  Majesty  knows  that  wills  pass  but  for  weak- 
nesses when  they  render  not  themselves  efficacious, 


xvi  TO    THE   KING. 

and  are  so  far  from  being  worthy  of  praise  that  they 
condemn  those  who  have  them  so  much  the  more, 
because  they  see  well  what  they  ought  to  do,  and 
have  not  the  heart  to  attempt  or  undertake  it.  The 
way  of  virtue  at  first  glance  seems  rough,  but  it  con- 
ducts to  the  temple  of  glory,  where  it  is  certain  we 
arrive,  not  by  simple  thoughts  and  idle  discourses,  but 
by  labour,  application,  and  perseverance. 

I  have  often  taken  the  liberty  to  represent  to  your 
Majesty  that  royalty  is  no  metier  de  fainiant;  that 
it  consists  almost  altogether  in  action ;  that  a  king 
ought  to  make  his  duty  his  delight ;  and  that  he 
ought  to  know  how  to  reign ;  that  is,  how  to  hold  in 
his  own  grasp  the  helm  of  his  states,  the  better  to 
conduct  them  with  vigour,  wisdom,  and  justice. 

Who  knows  not  that  there  is  no  honour  in  bearing 
a  title  without  executing  the  functions  of  it ;  that  it 
is  in  vain  to  have  acquired  the  best  knowledge,  with- 
out labouring  to  reduce  it  to  practice ;  that  it  is 
ridiculous  to  propose  to  ourselves  a  great  model  unless 
it  be  effectually  imitated ;  and,  in  fine,  that  it  is 
nothing  to  understand  by  heart  all  the  maxims  of 
policy,  if  we  apply  them  not  to  their  right  use  ? 
Without  doubt,  he  that  hath  eyes  and  will  not  open 
them,  who  hath  arms  and  will  not  take  the  pains  to 
move  them,  is  in  a  worse  state  than  the  blind  or  the 
cripple. 


TO    THE   KING.  xvii 

I  cannot  dissemble,  Sire,  that  unspeakable  joy  I 
have  sometimes  conceived  when  I  have  miderstood 
from  the  mouth  of  your  Majesty  that  you  would 
choose  rather  never  to  have  worn  a  crown  than  not 
yourself  to  govern  it,  but  resemble  those  lazy  kings  of 
the  first  race,  who,  as  all  our  historians  say,  served 
only  as  idols  to  the  mayors  of  their  palace,  and  who 
had  no  name  other  than  to  mark  the  year  in  the 
chronology. 

But  it  will  be  enough  to  make  France  know  how 
much  your  Majesty  condemns  that  sleepy  lethargy,  to 
tell  them  that  you  are  at  present  resolved  to  imitate 
your  grandfather,  Henri  the  Great,  who  was  the  most 
active  and  most  laborious  of  all  our  kings,  who  dedi- 
cated liimseK  with  great  diligence  to  the  management 
of  his  affairs,  and  who  cherished  his  states  and  people 
with  the  utmost  affection  and  tenderness.  This  is  to 
declare  that  your  Majesty  has  taken  a  firm  resolution 
to  put  your  hand  to  the  work,  to  know  both  the  in- 
side and  outside  of  your  realm,  to  preside  in  your 
councils,  to  give  weight  and  motion  to  all  resolutions, 
to  have  a  continual  eye  over  your  revenues,  to  cause  a 
true,  faithful,  and  exact  account  to  be  given,  to  dis- 
tribute graces  and  recompenses  to  those  of  your  crea- 
tures who  shall  prove  worthy;  in  fine,  fully  and 
amply  to  enjoy  your  authority.  It  is  thus  the  incom- 
parable Henri  acted,  whom  we  have  seen  to  reign, 


xviii  TO    THE   KING. 

not  only  in  France  bj  right  of  blood,  but  over  all 
Europe  by  the  esteem  of  his  virtue. 

In  effect,  since  the  first  foundation  of  the  French 
monarchy,  history  furnishes  us  not  with  any  reign 
more  memorable  by  reason  of  the  great  events,  more 
replete  with  the  wonders  of  divine  assistance,  more 
glorious  for  the  prince,  and  more  happy  for  the  people 
than  his ;  and  it  is  without  flattery  or  envy  that  all 
the  universe  has  given  him  the  surname  of  Great, 
not  so  much  for  the  greatness  of  his  victories,  however 
comparable  to  those  of  Alexander  or  Pompey,  as  for 
the  greatness  of  his  soul  and  of  his  courage  ;  for  he 
never  bowed  either  under  the  insults  of  fortune  or 
imde?  the  stratagems  of  his  enemies,  or  under  the  re- 
sentments of  revenge,  or  under  the  artifices  of  favour- 
ites or  ministers ;  he  remained  always  in  the  same 
temper,  always  master  of  himself.  In  a  word,  he 
remained  always  king  and  sovereign,  without  ac- 
knowledging other  superior  than  God,  justice,  and 
reason. 

Let  us,  then,  proceed  to  write  the  history  of  his 
life,  which  we  shall  divide  into  three  principal  parts. 

The  first  shall  contain  what  happened  from  his 
birth  till  his  coming  to  the  crown  of  France.  The 
second  shall  speak  of  what  he  did  after  he  came  to 


TO    THE    KING.  xix 

it  until  the  peace  of  Vervins ;  and  the  third  shall 
recount  his  actions  after  the  peace  of  Yervins  until 
the  unhappy  day  of  his  death. 

But,  before  all,  it  is  necessary  to  say  something 
briefly  of  his  genealogy.  He  was  the  son  of  Antoine 
de  Bourbon,  Due  de  Yend6me  and  King  of  Navarre, 
and  Jeanne  d'Albret,  heiress  of  that  kingdom. 

Antoine  was  a  descendant  in  a  direct  male  line  of 
Robert,  Comte  de  Clermont,  fifth  son  of  King  Saint 
Louis.  This  Robert  espoused  Beatrix,  daughter  and 
heiress  of  John  of  Burgundy,  Baron  de  Bom'bon,  by 
his  wife  Agnes ;  for  which  cause,  Robert  took  the 
name  of  Bourbon,  but  not  the  arms,  still  keeping 
those  of  France. 

This  wise  precaution  served  well  to  his  descend- 
ants, to  maintain  themselves  in  the  degree  of  princes 
of  the  blood,  which  those  of  Courtenay  ^  lost  for  not 
having  acted  in  the  same  manner.  And  besides  the 
virtue  which  gave  a  splendom*  to  their  actions,  the 
good  management  and  economy  which  they  exercised 
to  conserve  and  augment  their  revenues,  the  great 
alliances  in  which  they  were  diligent  to  match  them- 

1  Peter,  son  of  Louis  le  Gros,  espoused  Isabella,  heiress  of  Courtenay, 
and  took  both  name  and  arms,  —  a  fault  very  prejudicial  to  his  descend- 
ants, for  they  tried  in  1G03  and  later  to  be  recognised  as  princes  of  the 
royal  line,  but  were  always  unsuccessful. 


XX  TO    THE   KING. 

selves,  ever  refusing  to  mingle  their  noble  with  vulgar 
blood,  and  above  all  their  rare  piety  towards  God  and 
that  singular  goodness  wherewith  they  acted  towards 
their  inferiors,  conserved  them  and  elevated  them 
above  princes  of  elder  branches ;  so  that  the  people, 
seeing  them  always  rich,  puissant,  wise,  and  in  a  word 
worthy  to  command,  had  imprinted  in  their  spirits,  as 
it  were,  a  prophetic  persuasion  that  this  house  would 
one  day  come  to  the  crown ;  and  they  on  their  side 
seemed  to  have  conceived  this  hope,  though  it  were  at 
great  distance,  having  taken  for  their  word  or  device, 
Hope. 

Among  the  younger  branches  wliich  issued  from 
this  branch  of  Bourbon,  the  most  considerable  and 
the  most  illustrious  was  that  of  VendSme.  It  car- 
ried this  name  because  they  possessed  that  great 
country,  which  came  to  them  in  the  year  1364  by 
the  marriage  of  Catherine  de  YendSme  (sister  and 
heiress  to  Bouchard,  last  Comte  de  VendSme)  with 
Jean  de  Bourbon,  Count  of  the  Marches.  At  this 
time  it  was  but  a  county,  but  was  afterwards  made 
a  duchy  by  King  Francois  I.,  in  the  year  1515,  in 
favour  of  Charles,  who  was  great-grandchild  to  Jean 
and  father  of  Antoine.  This  Charles  had  seven  male 
children :  Louis,  Antoine,  Frangois,  another  Louis, 
Charles,  Jean,  and  a  third  Louis.  The  first  Louis 
and  the  second  died   in  their  infancy,  and  Antoine 


TO   THE   KING.  xxi 

remained  the  eldest.  FranQois,  who  was  Comte  d'En- 
ghien  and  gained  the  battle  of  Cerisoles,  died  with- 
out being  married.  Charles  was  a  cardinal,  of  the 
title  of  Chrysogone,  and  Archbishop  of  Rouen ;  he 
it  was  who  was  named  the  old  Cardinal  de  Bour- 
bon. Jean  lost  his  life  at  the  battle  of  St.  Quentin. 
The  third  Louis  was  called  the  Prince  de  Conde,  and 
by  two  marriages  had  several  male  children.  From 
the  first  descended  Henri,  Prince  de  Cond^,  Francois, 
Prince  de  Conti,  and  Charles,  who  was  Cardinal  and 
Archbishop  of  Rouen  after  the  death  of  the  old  Car- 
dinal de  Bourbon.  From  the  second  came  Charles, 
Comte  de  Soissons. 

There  were  eight  generations  from  male  in  male 
from  Saint  Louis  to  Antoine,  who  was  Due  de  Ven- 
d8me.  King  of  Navarre,  and  father  to  our  Henri. 

As  for  Jeanne  d'Albret,  his  wife,  she  was  daughter 
and  heiress  of  Henri  d'Albret,  King  of  Navarre,  and 
of  Marguerite  de  Valois,  sister  of  King  Fran9ois  I., 
and  widow  of  the  Due  d'Alen^on.  Henri  d'Albret 
was  son  of  Jean  d'Albret,  who  became  King  of  Na- 
varre by  his  wife  Catherine  du  Foix,  sister  of  King 
Phoebus,  who  died  without  children  ;  for  that  realm 
had  entered  into  the  house  of  Foix  by  marriage,  as  it 
entered  afterwards  into  that  of  Albret,  and  still  later 
into  that  of  Bourbon. 


xxii  TO    THE    KING. 

Ferdinand,  King  of  Arragon,  had  invaded  and  taken 
Upper  Navarre,  that  is,  that  part  which  is  beyond  the 
Pyrenean  Hills,  and  the  most  considerable  of  that 
realm,  from  King  Jean  d'Albret;  so  that  by  conse- 
quence there  remained  to  the  latter  only  the  Lower, 
that  is,  that  beneath  the  mountains  towards  France  ; 
but  with  it  he  had  the  countries  of  Beam,  of  Albret, 
of  Foix,  of  Armagnac,  of  Bigorre,  and  many  other 
great  seigniories  which  came  to  him  by  the  houses  of 
Foix  and  Albret. 

Henri,  his  son,  had  only  one  daughter,  Jeanne,  who 
was  called  the  "  favourite  of  kings,"  for  King  Henri, 
her  father,  and  the  great  King  Francois,  her  uncle, 
with  envy  of  each  other,  strove  most  to  cherish  her. 

The  Emperor  Charles  Y.  had  cast  his  eyes  on  her, 
and  caused  her  to  be  demanded  of  her  father  for  his 
son  Philip  II.,  proposing  this  as  a  means  to  pacify 
their  differences  touching  the  kingdom  of  Navarre. 
But  King  Fran9ois  I.,  not  thinking  it  fit  to  introduce 
so  powerful  an  enemy  into  France,  causing  her  to 
come  to  Chastellerault,  affianced  her  to  the  Due  de 
Cleves,  and,  after  releasing  her  of  that  contract, 
married  her  to  Antoine  de  Bourbon,  Due  de  Ven- 
d6me  ;  and  the  marriage  was  solemnised  at  Moulins 
in  the  year  1547,  the  same  year  that  Frangois  I. 
died. 


TO   THE   KING.  xxiii 

The  two  young  spouses  had  in  their  first  three  or 
four  years  two  sons,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy  by 
accidents  very  extraordinary  :  the  first,  because  its 
governess,  being  herself  cold  of  nature,  kept  it  so 
hot  that  she  stifled  it  with  heat;  and  the  second  by 
the  carelessness  of  the  nurse,  who,  playing  with  a 
gentleman,  as  they  danced  the  child  from  one  to 
another,  let  it  fall  to  the  ground,  so  that  it  died  in 
agony.  Thus  Heaven  deprived  them  of  these  two 
little  princes,  to  make  way  for  our  Henri,  who  merited 
well  both  the  birthright  and  to  be  an  only  son. 

Let  us  now  come  to  the  history  of  his  life. 


CONTENTS. 


PART   I. 

PAGE 

Containing  the  History  of  Henri  the   Great,  from  his 
Birth  until  he  came  to  the  Crown  of  France   .         .     29 


PART    II. 

Containing  the  actions  of  Henri  the  Great,  from  the  day 
he  came  to  the  thi'one  of  France  until  the  Peace, 
which  was  made  in  the  year  1598,  by  the  Treaty  of 
Vervins 106 


PART  ni. 

Briefly  containing  what  Henri  the  Great  did  after  the 
Peace  of  Vervins,  made  in  the  year  1598,  xmtU  his 
death,  which  happened  in  the  year  1610      .        .        .  215 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Henri  IV.      .......  Frontispiece 

The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew        ...       40 

Henri  HI .104 

Gabrielle  d'Estr:^E8 166 

Marie  de  M£:dicis 200 

Philip  II 218 

Marguerite  de  Valois 290 

A  Huguenot  Officer 350 


HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

HENRI   lY. 


PART  I. 


Containing  the  History  of  Henri  the  Great,  from  his  Birth 
until  he  came  to  the  Crown  of  France. 

Henri  the  Great,  son  of  Antoine  de  Bourbon,  Due 
de  VendSme,  and  the  Princesse  de  Navarre,  was  born 
at  Pau,  in  Bdarn,  on  the  13th  of  December,  1553. 

His  grandfather,  Henri  d'Albret,  who  yet  lived, 
having  understood  that  his  daughter  was  with  child, 
recalled  her  home  to  him  from  the  camp  in  Picardy, 
where  she  was  with  her  husband,  who  was  governor 
of  that  province,  and  who  was  gone  from  La  Pleche 
to  command  an  army  against  Charles  V.  He  was 
desirous  to  take  every  care  for  the  preservation  of 
this  new  fruit,  which,  by  a  secret  presentiment,  he 
was  wont  to  say  ought  to  revenge  him  of  those 
injuries  the  Spaniards  had  done  him. 

This  courageous  Princess,  then  taking  leave  of  her 
husband,  left  Compiegne  on  the  15th  of  November, 

29 


30  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

traversed  all  France  to  the  Pyrenees,  and  arrived  at 
Pau,  where  the  King  her  father  was,  on  the  4th  of 
December,  and  on  the  13th  of  the  same  month  she 
was  happily  brought  to  bed  of  a  son. 

Before  this,  King  Henri  d'Albret  had  made  his 
will,  which  the  Princess,  his  daughter,  had  a  great 
desire  to  see,  because  it  was  reported  that  it  was 
made  to  her  disadvantage,  in  favour  of  a  lady  that 
the  good  man  had  loved.  She  durst  not  speak  to 
him  of  it ;  but  he,  being  advised  of  her  desire,  prom- 
ised to  show  it  to  her  and  put  it  in  her  hands  when 
her  child  was  born ;  but  on  condition  that  at  her 
delivery  she  should  sing  a  song,  "  to  the  end,"  said 
he,  "  that  thou  bringest  not  into  the  world  a  weak 
and  weeping  infant."  The  Princess  promised  him, 
and  had  so  much  courage  that,  despite  the  great 
pains  she  suffered,  she  kept  her  word,  and  sang  one 
in  the  Bearnais  language  so  soon  as  she  understood 
he  had  entered  the  chamber.  It  was  observed  that 
the  infant,  contrary  to  the  common  order  of  nature, 
came  into  the  world  without  weeping  or  crying.  Nor 
was  it  fit  that  a  prince  who  ought  to  be  the  joy  of  all 
France  should  be  born  amidst  tears  and  groans. 

So  soon  as  he  was  born,  his  grandfather  carried  him 
in  the  skirt  of  his  robe  into  his  own  chamber,  giving 
his  will,  which  was  in  a  box  of  gold,  to  his  daughter, 
and  telling  her,  "  My  daughter,  see  there  what  is  for 
you  ;  but  this  is  for  me."     Whilst  he  held  the  infant 


HENRI   IV.  31 

he  rubbed  his  little  lips  with  a  clove  of  garlic,  and 
made  him  suck  a  draught  of  wine  out  of  a  golden 
cup,  that  he  might  render  his  temperament  more 
masculine  and  vigorous. 

The  Spaniards  had  formerly  said,  in  raillery,  con- 
cerning the  birth  of  the  mother  of  our  Henri,  "  Oh, 
wonder !  the  cow  has  brought  forth  a  ewe !  "  meaning 
by  the  word  "cow"  Queen  Marg-uerite,  her  mother, 
whom  they  called  so,  and  her  husband  cowkeeper, 
alluding  to  the  arms  of  B^arn,  which  are  two  cows. 
And  King  Henri,  resting  assured  of  the  future  great- 
ness of  his  little  grandchild,  taking  him  often  in  his 
arms,  kissmg  him,  and  remembering  the  foolish  rail- 
lery of  the  Spaniards,  spoke  with  joy  to  all  those  who 
came  to  visit  him  and  congratulate  this  happy  birth. 
"  See,"  said  he,  "  how  my  ewe  has  now  brought  forth 
a  lion ! " 

He  was  baptised  the  year  following,  on  Twelfth- 
day,  being  the  6th  of  January,  1554.  For  this  bap- 
tism were  expressly  made  fonts  of  silver  richly  gilded, 
in  which  he  was  baptised,  in  the  chapel  of  the  castle 
of  Pan.  His  godfathers  were  Henri  II.,  King  of 
France,  and  Henri  d'Albrct,  King  of  Navarre,  who 
gave  him  their  name ;  and  the  godmother  was  Ma- 
dame Claudia  of  France,  afterwards  Duchesse  de 
Lorraine.  Jacques  de  Foix,  then  Bishop  of  Lescar, 
and  afterwards  Cardinal,  held  him  over  the  font  in 
the  name  of  the  most  Christian  King ;  and  Madame 


32  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

d'Andovins,  in  the  name  of  Madame  Claudia  of 
France.  He  was  baptised  loj  the  Cardinal  of  Arma- 
gnac,  Bishop  of  Rodez  and  Vice-legate  of  Avignon. 

He  was,  however,  difficult  to  bring  up,  having 
seven  or  eight  nurses,  of  which  the  last  had  all  the 
honour.  On  his  bemg  weaned,  the  King  gave  him 
for  governess  Susanne  de  Bourbon,  wife  of  Jean 
d'Albret,  Baron  of  Miossens,  who  educated  him  in 
the  castle  of  Coarasse  in  Beam,  situated  amongst 
the  rocks  and  mountains. 

His  grandfather  would  not  permit  him  to  be  nour- 
ished with  that  delicacy  ordinarily  used  to  persons 
of  his  quality,  knowing  well  that  there  seldom  lodged 
other  than  a  mean  and  feeble  soul  within  a  soft  and 
tender  body.  He  likewise  denied  him  rich  habili- 
ments and  children's  usual  baubles ;  or  that  he 
should  be  flattered  or  treated  like  a  prince,  "  because 
all  those  things  were  only  the  causes  of  vanity,  and 
rather  raised  pride  in  the  hearts  of  infants  than  any 
sentiments  of  generosity ; "  but  he  commanded  that 
he  should  be  habited  and  nourished  ^  like  the  other 
infants  of  the  country,  and  likewise  that  they  should 
accustom  him  to  run  and  mount  up  the  rocks,  that  by 
such  means  he  might  use  himself  to  labour,  and,  if 
we  may  speak  so,  give  a  temperament  to  that  young 
body  to    render   it   the    more  strong  and   vigorous, 

1  It  has  been  said  that  he  was  ordinarily  nourished  with  coarse  bread, 
beef,  cheese,  and  garlic,  and  that  often  he  was  made  to  march  bare- 
headed and  with  naked  feet. 


HENRI   IV.  33 

which  was  without  doubt  most  necessary  for  a  prince 
who  was  to  suffer  so  much  to  reconquer  his  estate. 

King  Henri  d'Albret  died  at  Hagetmau  in  Beam, 
on  the  25th  of  May,  1555,  being  fifty-three  years  old 
or  thereabouts.  He  ordained  by  his  will  that  his 
body  should  be  carried  to  Pampeluna  to  be  interred 
with  his  predecessors,  and  that  in  the  meantime  it 
should  be  laid  in  state  in  the  cathedral  of  Lescar  in 
B^arn.  This  prince  was  courageous,  of  a  great  spirit, 
sweet  and  courteous  to  all  the  world,  and  so  nobly 
liberal  that  Charles  Y.,  once  passing  through  Navarre, 
was  in  such  manner  received  that  he  protested  he  had 
never  seen  a  more  magnificent  prince. 

After  his  death,  Jeanne,  his  daughter,  and  An- 
toine.  Due  de  Vend6me,  his  son-in-law,  succeeded 
him.  They  were  at  that  time  at  the  Court  of  France, 
and  had  much  difficulty  in  obtaining  leave  to  retire 
to  B^arn;  for  King  Henri  II.,  pressed  to  it  by  bad 
counsel,  would  have  deprived  them  of  the  Lower 
Navarre,  which  yet  remained  to  them,  pretending 
that  all  below  the  Pyrenees  belonged  to  the  realm 
of  France.  They  knew  how  justly  to  oppose  against 
him  the  States  of  the  country,  and  the  King  durst 
not  too  much  pursue  this  subject,  lest  despair  should 
force  them  to  call  the  Spaniards  to  their  assistance ; 
but  he  still  remained  troublesome  to  them,  and,  giv- 
ing to  Antoine  the  government  of  Guienne,  which  had 
been  likewise  held  by  Henri  d'Albret,  his  father-in- 


34  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

law,  he  deprived  him  of  Languedoc,  which  he  had  a 
long  time  enjoyed. 

About  two  years  after,  they  returned  to  the  Court 
of  France,  whither  they  brought  their  son,  aged  four 
or  five  years,  who  was  the  jolliest  and  best-composed 
lad  in  the  world ;  but  they  stayed  only  a  few  months, 
and  returned  again  to  Beam. 

A  Httle  time  after,  King  Henri  II.  was  slain  with 
a  blow  of  a  lance  by  Montgomery.  Frangois  II.,  his 
eldest  son,  succeeded  him ;  and  the  Guises,  uncles  to 
Marie  Stuart,  his  Queen,  seized  the  Government.  The 
Princes  of  the  blood  would  not  suffer  this,  and  Louis, 
Prince  de  Conde,  younger  brother  to  Antoine,  called 
that  King  to  the  Court  to  oppose  it. 

During  these  divisions  the  Huguenots  hatched  the 
Amboise  conspiracy  against  the  Government ;  and  the 
two  brothers,  Antoine  and  Louis,  being  accused  as 
chiefs  of  it,  were  arrested  in  Orleans,  and  evidence 
was  so  strong  against  Louis  that  it  was  believed  he 
would  have  been  beheaded  if  the  death  of  King  Fran» 
9ois  II.  had  not  happened. 

Charles  IX.,  who  succeeded  him,  being  under  age, 
Queen  Catherine,  his  mother,  caused  herself  to  be  de- 
clared Regent  of  the  States,  and  the  King  of  Navarre, 
first  Prince  of  the  blood,  was  declared  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  realm,  to  govern  the  States  with  her ;  so 
that  by  this  means  he  was  kept  in  France,  whither  he 
caused  his  Queen,  Jeanne,  and  his  young  son.  Prince 


HENRI  IV.  35 

Henri,  to  come.  But  he  did  not  long  enjoy  this  new 
dignity,  for,  the  troubles  daily  continuing,  by  reason 
of  the  surprises  which  the  new  reformers  made  of  the 
chief  cities  of  the  kingdom,  after  having  retaken 
Bruges  from  them,  he  came  to  besiege  Rouen,  where, 
visiting  one  day  the  trenches,  he  received  a  musket 
shot  in  the  left  shoulder,  of  which  he  in  a  few  days 
died  at  Andely,  on  the  Seine.  Had  he  lived  longer 
the  Huguenots  had  without  doubt  been  but  ill-treated 
in  France,  for  he  mortally  hated  them,  though  his 
brother,  the  Prince  de  Cond^,  was  the  principal  chief 
of  their  party. 

The  Queen,  his  wife,  and  the  little  Prince,  his  son, 
were  at  that  time  at  the  Court  of  France.  The 
mother  returned  to  B^arn,  where  she  publicly  em- 
braced Calvinism ;  but  she  left  her  son  with  the  King, 
under  the  conduct  of  a  wise  tutor  named  La  Gauche- 
rie,  who  endeavoured  to  give  him  some  degree  of 
learning,  not  by  the  rules  of  grammar,  but  by  dis- 
courses and  entertainments.  To  this  effect  he  taught 
him  by  heart  many  fair  sentences,  such  as : 

Ou  vaincre  avec  justice, 

Ou  mom-ir  avec  gloire.^ 
And  this : 

Les  princes  sur  leur  peuple  ont  autorit^  grande, 
Mais  Dieu  plus  fortement  dessus  les  rois  commande.* 

»  Either  justly  gain  the  victory, 
Or  learn  with  glory  how  to  die. 
2  Kings  rule  their  subjects  with  a  mighty  hand; 
But  God  with  greater  power  dott  kings  command. 


36  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

In  the  year  1566  his  mother  took  him  from  the 
Court  of  France,  and  led  him  to  Pau;  and  in  the 
place  of  La  Gaucherie,  who  had  died,  she  gave  him 
Florentius  Christian,  an  ancient  servant  of  the  house 
of  YendQme,  a  man  of  a  very  agreeable  conversation 
and  well  versed  in  learning,  but,  however,  a  Hugue- 
not, who,  according  to  the  orders  of  the  Queen, 
instructed  the  Prince  in  that  false  doctrine. 

In  the  first  troubles  of  the  religion,  FrauQois,  Due 
de  Guise,  had  been  assassinated  by  Poltrot  at  the 
siege  of  Orleans,  leaving  his  children  in  minority. 
This  was  in  the  year  1563.  In  the  second,  the  Con- 
notable  de  Montmorency  received  a  wound  at  the 
battle  of  St.  Denis,  of  which  he  died  at  Paris  three 
days  after,  the  eve  of  Saint  Martin,  in  the  year  1567. 
In  the  third,  in  the  year  1569,  Queen  Jeanne  rendered 
herself  protectress  of  the  Huguenot  party,  being  for 
this  purpose  come  to  Rochelle  with  her  son,  whom 
she  now  devoted  to  the  defence  of  that  new  religion. 

In  this  quality  he  was  declared  chief,  with  his 
uncle,  the  Prince  de  Condd,  his  lieutenant,  in  conjmic- 
tion  with  Amiral  de  Coligny.  These  were  two  great 
chieftains,  but  they  committed  notable  errors;  and 
this  young  Prince,  though  not  exceeding  thirteen 
years  of  age,  had  the  spirit  to  observe  them.  For  he 
judged  well  at  the  great  skirmish  of  Loudun  that  if 
the  Due  d'Anjou^  had  had  troops  ready  to  assault 

1  This  Due  d'Anjou  was  afterwards  Henri  III. 


HENRI   IV.  37 

them,  he  had  done  it ;  and  that,  not  doing  it,  he  was 
without  doubt  in  a  sorry  pligiit,  and  therefore  should 
the  rather  have  been  assaulted  by  them ;  but  they,  by 
not  doing  it,  gave  time  to  all  his  troops  to  arrive. 

At  the  battle  of  Jarnac  he  represented  to  them  yet 
more  judiciously  that  there  was  no  means  to  fight, 
because  the  forces  of  the  Princes  were  dispersed,  and 
those  of  the  Due  d'Anjou  firmly  embodied ;  but  they 
were  engaged  too  far  to  be  able  to  retreat.  The 
Prince  de  Cond^  was  killed  in  this  battle,  or  rather 
assassinated  in  cold  blood  after  the  combat,  in  which 
he  had  had  his  leg  broken. 

After  that,  all  the  authority  and  hope  of  the  party 
remained  in  Amiral  de  Coligny,  who,  to  speak  truth, 
was  the  greatest  man  of  that  time  of  the  religion  he 
sided  with,  but  the  most  unfortunate. 

This  Admiral,  having  gathered  together  new  forces, 
hazarded  a  second  battle  at  Montcontour,  in  Poitou. 
He  had  caused  to  come  to  the  army  our  little  Prince 
de  Navarre,  and  the  young  Prince  de  Cond^,  who  was 
likewise  named  Henri,  and  placed  them  in  charge  of 
Prince  Lodovic  of  Nassau,  who  guarded  them  on  a 
distant  hill  with  four  thousand  horse. 

The  young  Prince  burned  with  desire  to  engage  in 
person,  but  they  permitted  him  not  to  run  so  great 
a  hazard.  Nevertheless,  when  the  advance  guard  of 
the  Due  d'Alen9on  was  disordered  by  that  of  the 
Admiral,  there  had  been  no  danger  to  let  him   fall 


38  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

upon  the  enemy,  who  were  taken  with  surprise. 
However,  they  hindered  him,  and  he  now  cried  out, 
"  We  shall  lose  our  advantage,  and  in  consequence 
the  battle."  It  happened  as  he  had  foreseen ;  and  it 
was  at  that  hour  judged  by  some  that  a  young  man 
of  sixteen  years  of  age  had  more  imderstanding  than 
the  old  soldiers.  Thus  he  applied  himself  thoroughly 
to  what  he  did ;  nor  had  he  only  a  body,  but  spirit 
and  sound  judgment. 

Being  saved  with  the  remnants  of  his  army,  he 
made  a  tour  almost  round  the  kingdom,  fighting  in 
retreat,  and  rallying  together  the  Huguenot  troops 
here  and  there  for  five  or  six  months,  during  which 
he  suffered  so  many  hardships  that,  had  he  not  been 
brought  up  in  the  manner  he  was,  he  would  not  have 
been  able  to  support  them. 

This  young  Prince,  always  accompanied  with  the 
Admiral,  led  his  troops  into  Guienne,  and  from  thence 
through  Languedoc,  where  he  took  Nimes  by  strata- 
gem, forced  several  small  places,  and  burned  the 
suburbs  of  Toulouse  in  such  manner  that  the  sparks 
of  that  fire  flew  into  that  great  city.  The  war  being 
thus  kindled  in  the  heart  of  France,  he  showed  him- 
self on  the  other  bank  of  the  Rh8ne  with  his  troops, 
gained  by  storm  the  towns  of  St.  Julien  and  St. 
Just,  and  obliged  St.  Etienne-en-Foret  to  capitu- 
late. Thence  he  descended  to  the  banks  of  the 
Sa6ne,  and  afterwards  into  the  middle  of  Burgundy. 


HENRI   IV.  39 

Paris  trembled  a  second  time  at  the  approach  of  an 
army  so  much  the  more  formidable,  because  it  seemed 
to  be  reinforced  by  the  loss  of  two  battles,  and  to 
have  now  gained  some  advantage  over  the  army  of  the 
Catholics,  which  the  Marechal  de  Cossd  commanded. 

The  Council  of  the  King,  fearing  to  hazard  all  by  a 
fourth  encounter,  judged  it  more  to  the  purpose  to 
patch  up  a  peace  with  that  party.  It  was  therefore 
entered  upon,  the  two  armies  being  near  each  other, 
and  concluded  in  the  little  town  of  Arnay-le-Duc,  on 
the  11th  of  August,  1570. 

This  peace  made,  every  one  returned  home.  The 
Prince  de  Navarre  went  to  B^arn,  King  Charles  IX. 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Maximil- 
ian II. ;  and  nothing  else  seemed  thought  of  but  feasts 
and  rejoicings.  In  the  meantime,  the  King,  having 
found  that  he  could  never  compass  his  desires  on  the 
Huguenots  by  force,  resolved  to  make  use  of  means 
more  easy,  but  much  more  wicked.  He  began  to 
caress  them,  to  feign  that  he  would  treat  them  favour- 
ably, to  accord  them  the  greater  part  of  those  things 
they  desired,  and  to  lull  them  asleep  with  hopes  of  his 
making  war  against  the  King  of  Spain  in  the  Low 
Countries,  a  thing  they  passionately  desired ;  and  the 
better  to  allure  them,  he  promised,  as  a  gage  of  his 
faith,  to  marry  his  sister  Marguerite  to  our  Henri ; 
and  by  these  means  drew  the  principal  chiefs  of  their 
party  to  Paris. 


40  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

His  mother,  Jeanne,  who  was  come  in  advance  to 
make  preparations  for  the  marriage,  died  a  few  days 
after  her  arrival,  —  a  princess  of  a  spirit  and  courage 
above  her  sex,  and  whose  soul,  wholly  virile,  was  not 
subject  to  the  weaknesses  and  defects  of  other  women ; 
but,  in  truth,  a  passionate  enemy  of  the  Catholic 
religion.  Some  historians  say  that  she  was  poisoned 
with  a  pair  of  perfumed  gloves,  because  it  was  feared 
that  she,  having  a  great  spirit,  would  discover  the 
design  now  formed  to  massacre  all  the  Huguenots ; 
but  if  I  be  not  deceived,  this  is  a  falsity ;  it  being 
more  likely,  as  others  say,  that  she  died  of  a  phthis- 
ical affection,  since  those  that  were  about  her  and 
served  her  have  so  testified. 

Henri,  her  son,  who  came  after  her,  being  in  Poitou, 
received  news  of  her  death,  and  presently  took  the 
quality  of  king ;  for  hitherto  he  had  borne  only  that 
of  Prince  de  Navarre.  As  soon  as  he  came  to  Paris 
the  mihappy  nuptials  were  celebrated,  the  two  parties 
being  married  by  the  Cardinal  de  Bom-bon,  on  a  dais 
erected  for  that  pm-pose  before  the  Church  of  Notre- 
Dame. 

Six  days  after,  which  was  the  day  of  Saint  Barthol- 
omew, all  the  Huguenots  who  were  come  to  the  solem- 
nity had  their  throats  cut ;  amongst  others,  the 
Admiral  and  twenty  other  lords  of  note,  twelve  hun- 
dred gentlemen,  three  or  four  thousand  soldiers  and 
burgesses,  and  through  aU  the  cities  of  the  kingdom, 


HENRI   IV.  41 

after  the  example  of  Paris,  near  a  hundred  thousand 
men.  Execrable  action!  which  never  had,  nor  ever 
shall  again  have,  if  it  please  God,  its  parallel. 

What  grief  must  it  be  to  our  young  King  to  see,  in- 
stead of  wines  and  perfumes,  so  much  blood  shed  at 
his  nuptials,  and  his  best  friends  murdered,  and  to 
hear  their  pitiful  cries,  which  pierced  his  ears  in  the 
Louvre,  where  he  was  lodged  !  And,  moreover,  what 
visions  and  fears  must  surprise  his  verj  person  !  For 
in  effect  it  was  considered  whether  they  should  murder 
him  and  the  Prince  de  Cond^  with  the  rest,  and  all 
the  murderers  concluded  their  death.  Nevertheless, 
by  a  miracle,  they  afterwards  resolved  to  spare  them. 

Charles  IX.  caused  them  to  be  brought  to  his  pres- 
ence, and,  having  showed  them  a  mountain  of  dead 
bodies,  with  horrible  threats,  not  hearkening  to  their 
reasons,  said  to  them,  "  Either  death  or  the  mass  ! " 
They  elected  rather  the  last  than  the  first,  and  abjured 
Calvinism ;  but  because  it  was  known  they  did  it  not 
heartily,  they  were  so  straitly  observed  that  they 
could  not  escape  the  Court  during  those  two  years 
that  Charles  IX.  lived,  nor  until  a  long  time  after  his 
death. 

During  this  time  our  Henri  exquisitely  dissembled 
his  discontent,  though  it  was  very  great,  and,  notwith- 
standing those  vexations  which  might  trouble  his  spirit, 
he  clothed  his  visage  with  a  perpetual  serenity,  and 
humour  wholly  jolly.     This  was  without  doubt  the 


42  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

most  difficult  passage  of  his  life.  He  had  to  do  with 
a  furious  King,  and  with  his  two  brothers  ;  to  wit,  the 
Due  d'Anjou,  a  dissembling  Prince,  who  had  been 
educated  in  massacres,  and  with  the  Due  d'Alengon, 
who  was  deceitful  and  malicious  ;  with  Queen  Cathe- 
rine, who  mortally  hated  him,  because  her  divines 
had  foretold  his  reign ;  and  lastly,  with  the  House  of 
Guise,  whose  power  and  credit  were  at  present  almost 
boundless. 

He  was  doubtless  necessitated  to  act  with  a  marvel- 
lous prudence  in  the  conduct  of  himself  with  all  these 
people,  that  he  might  not  create  in  them  the  least 
jealousy,  but  rather  beget  a  great  esteem  of  himself, 
make  submission  and  gravity  accord,  and  preserve  his 
dignity  and  life.  Ho,  however,  disengaged  himself 
from  all  these  difficulties  and  from  all  these  dangers 
with  an  unparalleled  address. 

He  contracted  a  great  familiarity  with  the  Due  de 
Guise,  who  was  of  about  his  own  age,  and  they  often 
made  secret  parties  of  pleasure  together ;  but  he  agreed 
not  so  well  with  the  Due  d'Alen9on,  who  had  a  capri- 
cious spirit ;  nor  was  he  overmuch  troubled  at  his  ill 
accord  with  him,  because  neither  the  King  nor  Queen- 
mother  had  any  affection  for  this  Duke.  However,  he 
gave  no  credit  to  the  bad  counsel  of  that  Queen's  emis- 
sary, who  endeavoured  to  engage  his  contending  in 
a  duel  against  him;  so  much  the  rather  because,  con- 
sidering him  as  the  brother  of  his  King,  to  whom  he 


HENRI   IV.  43 

owed  respect,  he  knew  well  it  would  have  proved  his 
loss,  and  that  she  would  not  have  been  wanting  to  take 
so  fair  a  pretest  to  ruin  him. 

He  shunned,  likewise,  other  snares  laid  for  him  ;  but 
yet  not  all,  for  he  suffered  himself  to  be  overtaken 
with  the  allurements  of  some  ladies  of  the  Court, 
whom  it  is  said  that  the  Queen  engaged  expressly 
to  amuse  the  Princes  and  nobles  and  to  discover  all 
their  thoughts. 

From  that  time  (for  vices  contracted  in  the  blossom 
of  youth  generally  accompany  men  to  their  tomb)  a 
passion  for  women  proved  to  be  the  greatest  weakness 
of  our  Henri,  and  possibly  was  the  cause  of  his  last  mis- 
fortune ;  for  God  punishes  sooner  or  later  those  who 
wickedly  abandon  themselves  to  this  criminal  passion. 

Besides  this,  he  contracted  no  other  crimes  in  this 
Court;  and  it  ought  to  be  attributed  to  a  particular 
grace  of  Heaven  that  he  was  not  infected  with  all, 
for  there  never  was  a  Court  more  vicious  or  more  cor- 
rupted. Impiety,  atheism,  witchcraft,  black  ingrati- 
tude and  perfidy,  poisoning  and  assassination,  reigned 
there  in  a  sovereign  degree ;  yet  all  these  abomina- 
tions, instead  of  affecting  him,  fortified  him  in  the 
natural  horror  he  had  against  them,  and  though 
amongst  wicked  persons,  he  had  never  any  thoughts 
to  become  their  companion,  but  many  to  be  their 
enemy. 

On  the   succeeding    St.    Bartholomew's   Day    they 


44  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

looked  to  finish  exterminating  the  Huguenots ;  and 
to  this  purpose  the  Due  d'Anjou  went  to  besiege 
Rochelle,  carrying  Henri  with  him,  but  caused  him 
to  be  so  well  observed  that  he  could  tiirn  neither  to 
the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left.  It  may  be  judged 
what  heart-grief  it  was  to  him  to  be  made  an  instru- 
ment in  the  destruction  of  those  who  yet  remained 
his  friends  and  servants,  and  had  sought  refuge  in 
this  city.  After  a  long  siege  it  was  relieved  by  the 
arrival  of  the  ambassadors  of  Poland,  who  came  to 
seek  the  Due  d'Anjou,  whom  the  Estates  of  that  coun- 
try had  elected  their  king.  The  siege  raised,  Henri 
returned  to  Paris,  or,  rather,  was  led  there,  and  the 
Due  d'Anjou  left  France  with  great  regret  in  order 
to  take  possession  of  his  new  kingdom. 

Some  months  afterwards  Charles  IX.  fell  mortally 
sick,  vomiting  forth  blood  through  all  the  conduits 
of  his  body,  so  that  by  many  it  was  believed  he  was 
poisoned. 

His  extreme  malady  gave  birth  to  a  league  made 
by  the  Due  d'AlenQon,  the  Mar^chaux  de  Montmorency 
and  de  Cosse,  and  some  Catholics  with  the  Huguenot 
party,  to  deprive  the  Queen-mother  of  the  Government, 
and  drive  the  Guises  from  the  Court,  where  they  were 
very  powerful.  Our  Henri  entered  into  it,  not  out  of 
any  design  to  stand  well  with  those  people,  but  only 
that  he  might  have  the  means  to  retire  with  security 
into  his  own  country. 


HENRI   IV.  45 

The  Queen-mother,  having  heard  of  these  doings, 
caused  him  and  the  Due  d'Alen^on  to  be  arrested  and 
committed  to  prison.  The  Prince  de  Condd  saved 
himself  happily  in  Germany.  She  caused  likewise  the 
two  Mar^chaux  de  Montmorency  and  de  Cossd  to  be 
secured ;  and  to  let  the  world  see  she  treated  not 
princes  of  their  degree  in  this  manner  without  suffi- 
cient cause,  she  caused  them  to  be  strictly  examined 
on  many  treasonable  interrogatories,  which  were  all 
false.  There  were  put  to  death  only  La  Mole,  Coco- 
nas,  and  Tourtray,  three  gentlemen  of  note,  who  had 
engaged  themselves  in  their  intrigues ;  and  possibly 
this  execution  was  necessary  to  calm  the  spirit  of  the 
nobility  and  people,  who  began  to  murmur  that  a  son 
of  France,  and  the  first  Prince  of  the  blood,  should  be 
treated  in  this  manner. 

In  this  affair  the  chancellor  would  have  examined 
the  King  of  Navarre ;  but  though  captive  and  threat- 
ened, he  would  not  so  much  wrong  his  dignity  as  to 
reply  to  him.  However,  to  content  the  Queen-mother, 
he  made  a  long  discourse,  addressing  his  speech  to 
her,  by  which  he  declared  many  things  touching  the 
present  state  of  affairs,  but  charged  no  person,  as  the 
Due  d'Alen9on  had  weakly  and  unworthily  done. 

King  Charles  IX.,  being  near  his  death,  and  hating, 
possibly  not  without  reason,  both  his  two  brothers 
and  his  mother,  sent  to  seek  our  Henri,  in  whom 
alone    he    acknowledged   to   have    found   faith    and 


46  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

honour,  and  most  affectionately  recommended  to  him 
his  wife  and  daughter. 

Catherine  de  Medicis,  knowing  that  the  King  had 
sent  for  Henri,  apprehended  that  he  would  leave  to 
him  the  regency,  and  proposed,  therefore,  to  inspire 
the  soul  of  Henri  with  such  fear  that  he  would  not 
dare  to  accept  it.  As  he  went  to  attend  the  King, 
who  was  at  Bois  de  Yincennes,  she  gave  orders  that 
he  should  be  made  to  pass  under  the  arches,  between 
the  guards,  who  lay  in  ambush  and  posture  to  slay 
him.  He  was  startled  at  first  with  fear,  and  recoiled 
two  or  three  paces.  However,  Nanzay  le  Ch§,tre,  cap- 
tain of  the  life-guards,  reassured  him,  swearing  to  him 
that  he  should  receive  no  harm ;  he  was  therefore 
constrained,  though  he  trusted  but  little  to  his  words, 
to  pass  through  the  carbines  and  halberds. 

After  the  death  of  Charles  IX.,  Catherine  de  Md- 
dicis,  partly  by  force  and  partly  by  cunning,  seized  on 
the  regency,  while  awaiting  the  return  of  her  favour- 
ite son,  the  Due  d'Anjou,  who  was  named  Henri  III. 

When  he  returned  from  Poland,  she  brought  the 
two  Princes  before  him  to  do  with  them  what  he 
pleased,  whom,  after  some  chidings  and  threatenings, 
he  set  at  liberty. 

These  two  Princes,  reflecting  on  the  continual  dan- 
gers they  had  for  two  years  past  been  in,  resolved 
with  the  first  occasion  to  deliver  themselves  from 
these  fears.     The  Prince  de  Cond^,  who  was  in  Ger- 


HENRI   IV.  47 

many,  had  raised  levies  for  the  Huguenot  party,  who, 
about  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Charles  IX.,  had  re- 
taken arms  ;  and  Damville,  second  son  of  the  late 
Constable,  and  brother  of  the  Mar^chal  de  Montmo- 
rency, who  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Bastille,  had  joined 
himself  to  their  party,  not  taking  religion  for  his 
pretext  (because  he  was  a  Catholic),  but  the  public 
liberty  and  reformation  of  the  State.  Those  Catholics 
who  joined  themselves  in  league  with  the  Huguenots 
were  named  the  Politicians. 

Our  Henri  could  not  escape  from  the  Court  so  soon 
as  he  desired.  He  was  diligently  watched,  and  his 
very  domestics  were  as  so  many  spies  over  him.  He 
knew  that  if  he  were  surprised  whilst  trying  to  leave 
he  would  certainly  be  murdered  ;  and  now,  whilst  he 
sought  occasions  to  do  so  with  security,  he  became 
enamoured  of  Madame  de  Sauves,  wife  of  the  secre- 
tary of  state,  then  the  fairest  woman  in  the  whole 
Court. 

In  the  meantime  the  Queen-mother,  who  with  so 
much  diligence  kept  him  at  Court,  would  have  been 
well  contented  had  he  been  gone,  for  the  King,  her 
dear  sou,  began  to  take  some  knowledge  of  his  own 
affairs,  —  a  thing  much  displeasing  to  her,  because  she 
would  have  governed  all.  She  therefore,  apprehend- 
ing that,  as  he  took  the  authority  into  his  own  hands, 
hers  would  be  diminished,  believed  that  she  ought  to 
embroil  all  by  factions  and  civil  wars,  of  which  she 


48  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

alone,  as  it  may  be  said,  had  the  key,  so  that  nothing 
could  take  place  without  her  knowledge  and  consent. 
This  explains  the  reason  why,  so  long  as  she  lived,  she 
did  nothing  but  craftily  generate  ti'oubles  and  ani- 
mate different  parties,  both  at  Court  and  abroad. 

Amongst  these  transactions,  as  the  King  went  to 
Rheims  to  be  installed,  a  conspiracy  was  discovered 
against  his  person,  fostered  by  the  Due  d'AleuQon,  at 
the  instigation  of  the  friends  of  the  deceased  Admiral 
and  of  La  Mole,  who  had  been  his  favourite.  Many 
believed  this  to  be  a  thing  devised  by  the  Queen- 
mother,  on  purpose  to  astound  and  weaken  the  spirit 
of  her  son ;  the  more  so  because  it  was  she  who 
obliged  the  King  to  pardon  this  crime  so  lightly, 
neither  of  the  accomplices  or  instigators  being  pun- 
ished for  it.  However  it  was,  Henri  III.  testified  on 
this  occasion  a  particular  confidence  in  our  King  of 
Navarre,  who,  assisted  by  his  friends,  served  him  as 
captain  of  his  guards  the  whole  way,  never  stirring 
from  the  boot  of  his  coach ;  and  in  this  he  appeared 
so  much  the  more  generous,  having  no  reason  to  love 
him  besides  the  obligation  of  his  duty,  being  his  kins- 
man and  his  vassal. 

Henri  III.,  having  arrived  at  Rheims,  was  on  the 
15th  of  February  installed  by  the  Cardinal  de  Guise, 
and  on  the  morrow  espoused  to  Louise  de  Lorraine, 
daughter  of  the  Comte  de  Yaudemont,  which  added 
yet  a  greater  lustre  to  the  House  of  Guise,  of  which 


HENRI   IV.  49 

Due  Henri  was  ehief,  who  was  then  in  favour,  but 
afterwards  killed  at  Blois.  This  Prince,  one  of  the 
bravest  in  every  way  that  age  produced,  had  ever 
promised  himself  to  govern  the  King  by  Queen 
Louise,  his  kinswoman.  He  had  contracted  a  very 
close  familiarity  with  the  King  of  Navarre,  whom  he 
called  his  master,  as  that  King  called  him  his  gossip. 

Queen  Marguerite,  who,  to  speak  the  truth,  could 
not  live  without  intrigues  and  gallantries,  contributed 
with  all  her  power  to  the  maintenance  of  this  good 
understanding,  and  essayed  to  make  Monsieur  (the 
Due  d'Alengon),  whom  she  most  passionately  loved, 
enter  into  it. 

But  this  union  of  princes  being  the  overthrow  of 
favourites  and  governors,  the  Queen-mother  straight- 
way spoilt  this  design,  by  begetting  in  the  King  a 
jealousy  of  his  wife,  incensing  Monsieur  against  the 
Due  de  Guise  by  the  remembrance  of  the  massacre 
of  the  Admiral,  continually  confounding  the  King  of 
Navarre  by  the  intrigue  of  some  ladies,  but  particu- 
larly of  De  Sauves,  who,  enjoying  such  person  as 
Catherine  commanded  her,  received  the  love  and  ser- 
vices of  Monsieur  to  create  a  difference  between  them. 

The  Queen-mother  maintained  likewise  an  irrecon- 
cilable hatred  between  the  King  and  Monsieur,  by 
which  means  there  happened  an  affair  which  as  much 
proclaimed  the  greatness  of  courage  and  generosity  of 
our  Henri  as  any  action  he  had  done  in  his  life. 


50  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  King,  having  fallen  sick,  and  being  in  great 
danger  of  death  with  a  pain  in  his  ear,  believed  him- 
self to  be  poisoned,  as  Francois  11.^  had  been,  and 
accused  Monsieur.  In  this  belief  he  sent  to  seek  the 
King  of  Navarre,  and  commanded  him  to  despatch 
Monsieur  as  soon  as  he  (the  King)  was  dead,  en- 
deavouring bj  all  reasons  possible  to  persuade  him 
that  that  wicked  man  would  make  him  perish  and  all 
his  if  he  prevented  it  not.  The  favourites  of  the 
King,  having  the  same  opinion  as  their  master,  seeing 
Monsieur  pass,  sacrificed  him  already  to  their  revenge 
by  murdering  regards. 

Our  Henri  endeavoured  to  sweeten  the  fury  of  the 
King,  and  demonstrated  to  him  the  horrible  conse- 
quences of  the  command ;  but  the  King,  not  content 
with  reasons,  contrary  to  them,  comported  himself  in 
such  manner  that  he  wished  him  to  presently  execute 
it,  for  fear  he  should  fail  of  it  when  he  was  dead. 

K  the  two  brothers — the  King  and  Monsieur  — 
were  out  of  the  world,  the  crown  would  appertain 
to  him.  Now  one  in  all  appearances  was  about  to 
die,  and  he  might  easily  find  a  death  for  the  other, 
having  the  favourites,  the  officers  of  the  King,  the 
Guises,  all  their  friends,  and  almost  all  the  nobility 
at  his  devotion ;  for  Monsieur  was  a  prince  of  an  ill 
presence    and    of   low  inclinations,  yet   malign    and 

I  Fran9ois  II.  died  of  an  aposteme  in  his  ear,  which  was  believed  to  be 
the  effects  of  poison. 


HENRI   IV.  51 

cruel ;  and  for  all  these  fine  qualities  hated  by  almost 
all  the  world,  and  sustained  only  by  the  brave  Bussy 
d'Amboise.  How  few  princes  are  there  who  would 
have  let  slip  so  fair  an  occasion  !  I  dare  boldly  speak 
it,  how  few  are  there  who  would  not  seek  it!  And 
yet  our  hero  (for  in  such  an  action  I  must  perforce 
call  him  so)  was  so  far  from  availing  himself  of  it 
that  he  conceived  a  horror  at  the  furious  vengeance 
of  Henri  III.  "  There  is  no  nobler  ambition  than  to 
know  how  to  moderate  ambition  when  it  is  not  just, 
and  to  endeavour  to  preserve  our  conscience  and  hon- 
our rather  than  acquire  a  crown  by  wicked  ways. 
Diadems  gained  by  ill  means  are  not  marks  of  glory 
to  those  brows  that  carry  them,  but  rather  frontlets 
of  infamy,  such  as  are  placed  on  thieves  and  villains." 

Heaven  without  doubt  approved  the  generous  senti- 
ments of  our  Henri,  and  destined  to  him  the  sceptre 
of  the  Jleur-de-Us,  because  guiltless  of  an  impatience 
to  reach  it  before  his  term.  On  the  contrary,  these 
brothers  of  the  House  of  Valois,  who  endeavoured  to 
ravish  it  one  from  the  other,  died  all  unhappy,  and 
had  for  their  successor  him  who  by  a  crime  refused 
to  be  so. 

Henri  III.,  having  recovered,  knew  well  that  he 
had  wrongfully  accused  his  brother  of  having  poisoned 
him,  yet  he  loved  him  never  a  whit  the  more.  He 
daily  suffered  his  favourites  to  give  him  a  thousand 
affronts,  and   to  domineer  over  him   in   the  public 


52  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

assemblies.  He  likewise  caused  Bussy  d'Amboise, 
who  was  his  brother's  favourite  and  only  support, 
to  be  murdered  by  night  at  the  gates  of  the  Louvre ; 
and  it  was  believed  he  had  given  orders,  if  the  Due 
d'Alen^on  had  gone  to  his  assistance  (for  there  were 
people  appointed  to  come  and  tell  him  that  Bussy  was 
assassinated),  to  slay  him  likewise.  Then  Monsieur, 
getting  the  bridle  out  of  his  mouth,  escaped  from 
Court,  put  himself  in  the  field,  gathered  together  some 
malcontents,  composed  an  army,  and  joined  with  that 
of  the  Huguenots,  commanded  by  the  Prince  de  Cond^ 
and  by  Casimir,  youngest  son  of  the  Count  Palatine, 
who,  in  these  civil  wars  of  religion,  twice  or  thrice 
led  great  levies  of  German  horse  into  France. 

Our  Henri  was  earnestly  solicited  to  follow  him, 
and  Monsieur  said  he  had  promised  him  to  do  it,  but 
they  had  taken  from  about  him  all  those  who  might 
favour  his  escape,  and  placed  in  their  stead  people  of 
their  own  hire.  He  was,  moreover,  promised  the  lieu- 
tenant-generalship of  the  King's  army,  which  was  a 
strong  lure  to  retain  him ;  nor  was  the  love  of  the 
fair  De  Sauves  less  powerful.  However,  the  natural 
spurs  of  his  courage  and  the  fear  he  had  lest  Monsieur 
and  the  Prince  de  Conde  should  seize  on  the  chief 
command  amongst  the  Huguenot  party,  which  had 
been  his  cradle  and  was  to  be  his  castle,  as  well  as 
the  remonstrances  of  some  of  his  servants  and  the 
inventions   of    Queen    Catherine,  who   expressly   in- 


HENRI   IV.  53 

censed  the  King  against  him,  in  the  end  obliged  him 
to  escape,  and  made  him  take  his  resolution. 

He  saved  himself  therefore  bj  feigning  to  go  hunt- 
ing towards  Senlis,  and  retired  to  AleuQon,  where,  how- 
ever, he  did  nothing,  peace  being  soon  after  concluded 
with  them  all.  There  was  granted  to  Monsieur  a 
great  portion  in  money  and  places ;  to  the  Huguenots 
many  very  advantageous  conditions ;  to  the  Prince 
de  Conde  the  government  of  Picardy,  and  the  city  of 
Peronne  for  his  retreat ;  but  to  our  Henri  nothing 
but  hopes,  of  which  being  in  the  end  disabused,  he 
renounced  the  peace,  and  reentered  the  Huguenot 
party  ;  and  quitting  the  Catholic  Church,  turned  anew 
to  his  first  religion.  It  is  to  be  believed  that  he  did 
it  because  he  was  persuaded  it  was  the  better.  Thus 
his  fault  will  be  worthy  of  excuse ;  nor  can  he  be 
accused  but  for  not  having  the  true  light.  In  the 
meantime  it  must  not  be  forgotten  to  observe  on  this, 
that  the  greatest  reproach  his  enemies  ever  made  him 
—  I  mean  those  of  the  League  —  was  his  having  thus 
relapsed ;  and  this  was  likewise  the  greatest  obstacle 
he  found  at  Rome,  when,  being  converted,  he  de- 
manded the  absolution  of  the  Pope. 

The  Rochellais  received  him  into  their  city,  but 
not  without  great  precautions,  and  not  until  he  had 
driven  from  him  some  people  who  were  neither  Catho- 
lics nor  Huguenots,  but  atheists,  and  horribly  wicked 
persons.     It  has  been  held  that  they  followed   him 


64  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

against  his  will ;  that,  although  he  had  made  use  of 
them  in  some  intrigues,  he  by  secret  advice  obliged 
the  Rochellais  to  demand  their  expulsion. 

After  he  had  sojourned  some  months  at  Rochelle, 
he  went  to  take  possession  of  his  government  of 
Guienne,  where  he  had  the  displeasure  to  see  shut 
against  him  the  gates  of  the  city  of  Bordeaux,  under 
the  pretext  that  the  inhabitants  feared  that  if  he 
became  master  of  it  he  would  banish  the  Catholic 
religion,  —  a  very  sensible  injury  to  a  young  prince 
full  of  courage ;  but  he  knew  most  wisely  how  to  dis- 
semble it  at  present,  because  he  had  not  power  to 
revenge  it,  and  generously  forgot  it  when  he  had  the 
means  to  do  it. 

About  this  time  the  League  took  birth,  that  power- 
ful faction  which  for  twenty  years  together  tormented 
France,  which  thought  to  introduce  the  Spanish  domi- 
nation, and  which  would  have  reversed  the  order  of 
the  succession  of  the  royal  family,  under  the  fairest 
pretext  in  the  world,  to  wit,  the  maintenance  of  the 
religion  of  our  ancestors. 

At  other  times,  under  the  reign  of  Charles  IX., 
there  were  divers  leagues  and  associations  made  in 
Guienne  and  Languedoc  to  defend  the  Church  against 
the  Huguenots  (our  heirs  will  judge  whether  those 
who  rendered  themselves  chief  of  them  had  most  zeal 
or  most  ambition),  but  they  were  not  pressed  so  for- 
ward nor  so  diligently  formed,  and  therefore  became 


HENRI   lY.  55 

extinct.  The  grandees  of  the  realm,  however,  might 
by  them  observe  that  if  at  any  time  such  associations 
were  made,  it  would  be  a  fair  means  to  elevate  to  a 
great  height  him  who  could  render  himself  their  chief. 

Henri,  Due  de  Guise,  who  had  a  kinglike  heart, 
had  in  all  likelihood  this  thought;  or,  if  he  at  first 
had  it  not,  the  favourites  of  Henri  HI.,  by  persecuting 
him,  forced  him  to  entertain  it,  and  to  apply  himself 
to  this  party,  to  defend  himself  against  them.  There 
were  of  his  house  seven  or  eight  princes,  all  brave 
to  the  utmost  extent.  The  principal  of  them  were 
his  brothers,  the  Due  de  Mayenne  and  the  Cardinal 
de  Guise,  and  the  Due  d'Aumale  and  the  Marquis 
d'Elbeuf,  his  cousins. 

Now  the  secession  of  Monsieur,  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  to  the  Huguenots,  and  the  advantageous  peace 
afterwards  granted  them,  made  the  League  show  itself, 
which  was  but  little  in  its  commencement.  Those 
who,  to  render  themselves  powerful,  desired  a  new 
faction  in  the  State,  took  up  this  subject  in  order  to 
represent  by  their  emissaries  the  great  danger  in 
which  the  Catholic  religion  was,  and  to  demonstrate 
the  excessive  strength  of  its  enemies,  who  had  on 
their  side  the  two  first  Princes  of  the  blood  and  Mon- 
sieur, who  was  their  friend.  "  What  would  it  be," 
said  they,  "  if  he  should  come  to  the  crown  with  such 
ill  intentions  ?  "We  ought,  therefore,  to  advise  in  good  * 
time,  and  fortify  ourselves  against  that  danger  which 


56  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

threatens  the  holy  Church."  They  then  whispered 
these  considerations,  and  others  like  them,  into  men's 
ears,  and  when  they  had  thus  disposed  their  minds, 
published  them  aloud. 

Upon  this,  the  burgesses  of  Peronne,  a  free  city, 
and  which  was  accustomed  to  have  so  powerful  a  gov- 
ernor, refused  to  receive  the  Prince  de  Conde,  because 
a  Huguenot.  He  made  his  complaints  to  the  King, 
and  demanded  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  peace. 
The  Picards  opposed  him,  and  were  the  first  that 
made  a  league  or  union  for  the  defence,  as  they  said, 
of  the  Catholic  Apostolic  and  Roman  faith.  The 
Prince  de  Conde  could  never  come  to  terms,  and  was 
constrained  to  retire  into  Guienne. 

Jacques,  Seigneur  d'Humieres,  was  made  chief  of 
this  league  in  Picardy,  and  Aplincourt,  a  young  gen- 
tleman, took  the  oath  of  the  inhabitants  of  Peronne, 
by  whose  example  the  cities  of  Amiens,  Corbie,  St. 
Quentin,  and  many  others,  did  the  like.  Louis  de 
Tr^mouille  began  one  likewise  in  Poitou.  The  Queen- 
mother  secretly  favoured  this  design,  to  the  end  that 
she  might  retain  her  authority  among  these  discords 
and  disturbances.  The  first  model  and  the  articles 
of  this  league  were  brought  to  Paris  ;  and  there  were 
some  so  zealous  as  to  carry  them  from  house  to  house, 
endeavouring  to  engage  the  most  backward ;  but 
Christopher  de  Thou,  chief  president,  hindered  for 
the  present  the  progress  of  this  conspiracy. 


HENRI   IV.  57 

Those  who  were  the  first  inventors  of  it  had  delib- 
erated among  themselves,  that  in  order  to  give  it 
means  to  aggrandise  itself  and  to  keep  the  spirits  of 
the  people  still  warm,  it  was  necessary  to  continue 
the  war  with  the  Huguenots.  For  this  purpose  they 
stirred  up  divers  persons,  who  surprised  their  places 
and  committed  a  thousand  affronts  against  our  Henri 
and  the  Prince  de  Cond^.  And  much  more,  they 
raised  so  many  factions  and  complaints  on  all  sides  of 
people  who  demanded  the  summoning  of  the  Estates, 
that  the  King  was  obliged  to  agree  to  it.  They  as- 
sembled at  Blois,  and  began  in  the  month  of  Decem- 
ber, in  the  year  1576.  The  Huguenots  themselves 
were  not  at  all  troubled  at  this  convocation,  because 
they  imagined  that  the  Third  Estate,  which  ordinarily 
is  the  strongest,  and  which  has  most  reason  to  appre- 
hend war,  would  cause  the  peace  to  be  confirmed; 
but  the  imion  of  those  who  were  for  war  was  so 
strong  that  it  was  resolved  to  prosecute  it  with  vig- 
om\ 

They  judged  it,  notwithstanding,  convenient  to  de- 
pute beforehand  some  persons  of  the  Assembly  to  our 
Henri  and  to  the  Prince  de  Cond^,  to  exhort  them  to 
return  into  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church.  And 
this  taking  no  effect,  the  King  was  obliged  to  declare 
himself  chief  of  the  League ;  and  so,  from  sovereign, 
become  chief  of  a  faction  and  enemy  to  a  part  of  his 
subjects. 


58  HISTORIC   COURT  IVIEMOIRS. 

But  to  be  revenged  on  the  Due  de  Guise,  who  was 
the  cause  of  all  these  troubles,  he  issued  an  edict 
whereby  the  Princes  of  the  blood  were  to  have  pre- 
cedence of  all  other  princes  and  peers,  as  well  at  the 
King's  coronation  as  in  Parliament  and  elsewhere. 
This  considerably  lessened  the  dignity  of  the  Due  de 
Guise,  who  by  ancient  usage  had  had  the  precedence 
of  the  Princes  of  the  blood  who  were  not  peers  or 
whose  peerage  was  of  a  later  date  than  was  his. 

He  raised  three  or  four  armies,  who  made  war 
against  the  Huguenots  in  the  Dauphinate,  in  Guienne, 
in  Languedoc,  and  in  Poitou  ;  and  reduced,  and  might 
have  quite  crushed  them,  if  their  ruin  had  been  reso- 
lutely prosecuted  before  they  could  recover  their  sur- 
prise. But  the  Queen-mother,  who  only  desired  the 
war  that  she  might  have  affairs  in  agitation,  and  not 
that  they  might  have  their  issue,  persuaded  the  King, 
her  son,  for  certain  studied  reasons,  to  grant  them 
peace. 

The  treaty  being  concluded,  the  Queen-mother  made 
a  voyage  into  Guienne.  She  feigned  that  it  was  to 
cause  it  to  be  punctually  executed,  and  to  carry  her 
daughter  Marguerite  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  her  hus- 
band ;  but  it  was  in  effect  to  sow  seeds  of  discord 
among  the  Huguenots,  in  order  that  she  might  be 
mistress  of  that  party  as  she  had  been  of  that  of  the 
Catholics.  Henri  now  kept  his  little  Court  at  Nerac  ; 
he  had  before  kept  it  at  Agen,  where  he  was  beloved 


HENRI   IV.  59 

of  the  people  by  reason  of  his  justice  and  goodness. 
But  it  happened  that  at  a  ball  or  dance  some  young 
people  of  his  own  train  blew  out  the  candles  to  com- 
mit insolencies,  which  so  scandalised  the  inhabitants 
that  they  delivered  up  their  city  to  the  Mar^chal  de 
Biron,  whom  the  King  had  sent  as  governor  into  the 
province  of  Guienne. 

A  little  later  Henri  likewise  lost  La  Reole  by 
another  folly  of  his  young  people.  He  had  given  the 
government  of  it  to  an  old  Huguenot  captain  named 
D'Ussac,  who  had  his  visage  horribly  deformed.  His 
deformity,  however,  hindered  him  not  from  becoming 
enamoured  of  one  of  the  ladies  attending  the  Queen- 
mother,  for  she  had  brought  many  of  the  most  be- 
witching with  her,  to  kindle  a  fire  everywhere.  The 
Vicomte  de  Turenne,  afterwards  Due  de  Bouillon, 
then  about  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  years  old,  with 
some  others  of  his  age,  would  make  raillery  of  this 
business.  Om*  Henri,  instead  of  commanding  them  to 
silence,  made  himself  of  their  party,  and  having  a 
fluent  spirit,  assisted  them  in  launching  some  mock- 
eries and  jeers  against  this  doting  lover.  No  passion 
renders  a  heart  so  sensitive  as  this.  D'Ussac  could 
not  suffer  this  raillery,  though  proceeding  from  his 
master ;  but,  in  spite  of  his  honour  and  religion,  he 
yielded  and  delivered  up  La  Reole  to  Duras,  a  noble- 
man who,  having  been  in  favour  with  our  Henri, 
had  quitted  him  out  of  envy,  because  he  testified  less 


60  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

affection  to  him  than  to  Roquelaire,  "who  was  without 
doubt  one  of  the  most  honest  and  most  pleasant  men 
of  his  time. 

The  Queen-mother  had  taken  with  her,  as  we  have 
said,  Queen  Marguerite  to  her  husband.  Neither  of 
the  two  spouses  was  over-well  pleased.  Marguerite, 
who  loved  the  splendour  of  the  French  Court,  where 
she  swam,  if  we  may  so  speak,  in  full  intrigues, 
believed  that  to  be  in  Guienne  was  a  kind  of  banish- 
ment ;  and  Henri,  knowing  her  humour  and  carriage, 
would  rather  have  chosen  her  room  than  her  com- 
pany. 1  However,  seeing  it  an  irremediable  ill,  he 
resolved  to  suffer  it,  leaving  her  an  entire  liberty. 
He  considered  her  rather  as  a  sister  of  his  King 
than  as  his  own  wife.  He  likewise  pretended  some 
nullities  in  the  marriage,  but  waited  time  and  place 
to  make  them  known.  In  the  meantime,  accommo- 
dating himseK  to  the  season  and  to  the  necessity  of 
his  affairs,  he  endeavoured  to  draw  advantages  from 
her  intrigues  and  from  her  credit.  He  received  no 
small  one  in  the  conference  which  he  and  the  depu- 
ties of  the  Huguenots  had  at  Nerac  with  the  Queen- 
mother  ;  for  whilst  she  thought  to  enchant  them  by 
the  charms  of  those  fair  ladies  she  had  expressly 
brought  with  her,  and  by  the  eloquence  of  Pibrac, 


1  The  King  of  Navarre  did  not  show  any  pleasure  in  receiving  a 
woman  whose  gallantries  had  thrown  ridicule  upon  his  name.  —  Maktin's 
"  History  of  France,"  vol.  ix. 


HENRI  rv.  61 

Marguerite  opposed  the  same  articles,  gained  the 
gentlemen  who  were  near  her  mother  by  the  attrac- 
tions of  her  ladies,  and  employed  so  well  her  own 
that  she  enchanted  the  spirit  and  will  of  poor  Pibrac 
in  such  manner  that  he  acted  only  by  her  will,  and 
quite  contrary  to  the  intentions  of  the  Queen-mother, 
who,  not  suspecting  that  a  man  so  wise  could  be 
capable  of  so  great  folly,  was  deceived  in  many 
articles,  and  insensibly  carried  to  grant  much  more 
to  the  Huguenots  than  she  had  resolved. 

Scarcely  were  eight  months  spent  since  the  peace, 
when  the  Queen-mother,  Monsieur,  and  the  Guises 
began  to  be  weary  of  it :  the  Queen-mother,  because 
she  would  not  have  the  King  rest  any  long  time 
without  having  need  of  her  negotiations  and  inter- 
mission ;  Monsieur,  because  by  rekindling  the  war  he 
thought  to  render  himself  redoubtable  to  the  King 
and  to  make  him  give  him  forces  to  carry  into  the 
Low  Countries,  which,  being  revolted  from  Spain, 
demanded  him  for  their  sovereign ;  and,  finally,  the 
Guises,  because  they  feared  lest  the  ardour  of  the 
League  should  by  too  protracted  a  calm  grow  cold. 

Li  these  wishes  they  pressed  the  King  to  redemand 
the  places  of  security  granted  to  the  Huguenots  ;  and 
Monsieur  and  the  Queen-mother  cunningly  caused  it 
to  be  told  to  our  Henri  that  he  should  not  surrender 
them,  but  hold  it  out  that  his  cause  was  just,  and 
that  his  safety  consisted  in  his   arms.     Marguerite, 


62  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

who  knew  his  weakness,  and  who  likewise  wished 
for  the  war,  excited  him  by  the  persuasion  of  ladies 
whom  she  retained  for  this  service,  and  by  the  same 
means  animated  alike  all  those  braves  who  approached 
her ;  nor  spared  she  herself  with  the  Vicomte  de  Tu- 
renne  for  this  purpose ;  so  that  this  Prince,  possibly 
with  very  little  justice,  and  certainly  to  very  ill 
purpose,  was  carried  to  a  rupture,  and  engaged  the 
Huguenots  in  a  new  civil  war,  which  was  named, 
for  the  reasons  just  spoken  of,  the  "  War  of  the 
Lovers." 

This  was  the  most  disadvantageous  they  ever  yet 
made.  By  it  they  lost  a  great  number  of  strong 
places ;  and  were  in  such  manner  weakened  that,  had 
the  pursuit  of  them  been  finished,  they  could  never 
have  regained  strength.  But  Monsieur,  who  desired 
to  transport  all  the  forces  both  of  the  one  and  the 
other  party  into  the  Low  Countries,  made  himself 
mediator  of  the  peace,  and  obtained  it  by  an  edict, 
which  was  concluded  after  the  conference  of  Fleix. 

This  peace  was  the  cause  of  almost  as  many  evils 
to  the  State  as  all  the  former  wars  had  been.  The 
two  Courts  of  the  two  Kings,  and  the  two  Kings  them- 
selves, plunged  headlong  into  their  pleasures ;  with 
this  difference,  however,  that  our  Henri  was  not  so 
absolutely  lulled  asleep  with  his  delights  but  that  he 
thought  sometimes  of  his  affairs,  being  awakened  and 
vividly  reminded  by  the  remonstrances  of  the  minis- 


HENRI   IV.  63 

ters  of  his  religion,  and  by  the  reproaches  of  the  old 
captains  of  the  Huguenots,  who  spoke  to  him  with 
great  liberty.  But  Henri  HI.  was  wholly  over- 
whelmed with  softness  and  feebleness.  He  seemed 
to  have  neither  heart  nor  motion ;  and  his  subjects 
could  scarcely  have  known  that  he  was  in  the  world, 
had  he  not  daily  charged  them  with  new  imposts,  all 
the  money  of  which  was  disposed  to  the  benefit  of  his 
favourites. 

He  had  always  three  or  four  at  a  time,  and  at 
present  he  began  to  cast  his  graces  on  Joyeuse  and  the 
two  Nogarets,  Bernard  and  Jean  Louis,  of  whom  the 
elder  died  five  or  six  years  after,  and  the  younger  was 
Due  d'Epernon,  one  of  the  most  memorable  and  most 
wonderful  subjects  that  the  Court  had  ever  seen  ele- 
vated in  its  favour,  and  who  certainly  had  qualities 
as  eminent  as  his  fortune.  In  the  meantime  the 
excessive  gifts  which  the  King  gave  to  all  his  favour- 
ites excited  the  cries  of  the  people  because  they  were 
trampled  on ;  and  their  monstrous  greatness  displeased 
the  Princes  because  they  believed  themselves  despised. 
In  such  manner  they  rendered  themselves  odious  to 
all  the  world ;  and  the  hate  carried  to  them  fell  like- 
wise upon  the  King,  whilst  that  violence  which  they 
obliged  him  to  use  towards  his  Parliaments  to  confirm 
his  edicts  of  creation  and  imposts  augmented  it  yet 
more ;  for  if  his  authority  made  his  wishes  pass  as 
absolute,  he  drew  upon  him  the  people's  curses  ;  and 


64  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

if  the  vigour  of  the  sovereign  compp.iiies,  as  often 
happened,  stopped  them,  he  attracted  their  disdain. 

The  people,  who  easily  lend  themselves  to  rebellion 
against  their  Prince  when  they  have  lost  for  him  all 
sentiments  of  esteem  and  veneration,  spoke  strange 
things  of  him  and  his  favourites.  The  Guises,  whom 
the  minions  —  for  so  the  favourites  were  called  ■ — 
opposed  on  all  occasions,  endeavouring  to  deprive 
them  of  their  charges  and  governments,  to  reinvest 
themselves,  were  not  wanting  to  blow  the  fire  and 
to  increase  the  animosities  of  the  people,  particularly 
in  the  great  cities,  whom  favourites  have  always  feared, 
and  who  have  always  hated  favourites.  These  were 
the  principal  dispositions  to  the  aggrandisement  of 
the  League  and  to  the  loss  of  Hem^i  III. 

It  is  not  to  our  purpose  to  recount  here  all  the 
intrigues  of  the  Court  during  five  or  six  years,  nor 
the  war  of  the  Low  Countries,  from  which  Monsieur  ^ 
brought  nothing  but  disgrace.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  tell  that  in  the  year  1584  Monsieur  died  at  the 
castle  of  Thierry,  without  having  been  married ;  that 
Hem'i  III.  had  likewise  no  children ;  and  that  it  was 
but  too  well  known  he  was  incapable  of  ever  having 
any,  by  reason  of  an  incurable  disease  which  he  con- 
tracted at  Venice,  on  his  return  from  Poland.^     See 

1  Monsieur,  intending  to  surprise  Antwerp,  and  treating  ill  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Low  Countries,  who  had  called  him,  was  driven  thence. 

2  From  1575  the  rumour  was  spread  that  the  King  and  his  brother  were 
as  mentioned  in  the  text.  —Martin's  "  History  of  France." 


HENRI   IV.  65 

here  the  reason  why,  as  soon  as  Monsieur  was  ad- 
judged dead  by  the  physicians,  the  Guises  and  Queen- 
mother  began  to  labour  each  on  their  side  to  assure 
themselves  of  the  crown,  as  if  the  succession  had  been 
open  to  them ;  for  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  ac- 
counted for  anything  our  Henri,  so  much  the  rather 
because  he  was  beyond  the  seventh  degree,  beyond 
which  in  ordinary  successions  is  accounted  no  kin- 
dred, and  because  he  was  not  of  that  religion  of  which 
all  the  Kings  of  France  have  been  since  Clovis,  and  by 
consequence  incapable  to  wear  the  crown  or  bear  the 
title  of  "  Thrice-Christian."  Add  to  this  that  he  was 
two  hundred  leagues  distant  from  Paris,  and,  as  it 
were,  shut  up  in  a  corner  of  Guienne,  where  it  seemed 
to  them  easy  to  ensnare  or  to  oppress  him. 

The  Queen-mother  had  a  design  to  give  the  crown 
to  the  children  of  her  daughter  married  to  the  Due 
de  Lorraine,  whom  she  would  have  treated  as  Princes 
of  the  blood,  as  if  the  crown  of  France  could  fall 
under  the  command  of  the  spindle.  Nor  was  this 
merely  out  of  the  love  she  had  for  them,  but  out  of 
a  secret  hatred  she  had  conceived  against  our  Henri, 
because  she  saw  that,  contrary  to  all  her  wishes, 
Heaven  had  opened  to  him  a  way  to  come  to  the 
throne. 

Besides,  she  was  too  much  deceived,  for  so  able  a 
woman,  to  believe  that  the  Due  de  Guise  would  favour 
her  in  her  design.     There  was  much  appearance,  and 


6Q  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

after-affairs  sufficiently  testified  it,  that,  feeling  him- 
self persecuted  by  the  favourites  and  ill-treated  by  the 
King  himself,  for  their  sakes  he  had  thoughts  to  assure 
the  crown  for  his  own  head ;  for  ill-treatments  work 
at  least  no  other  effect  than  to  cast  into  extreme  de- 
spair souls  so  noble  and  elevated  as  that  of  this  Prince. 
But  he,  knowing  well  that  of  himself  he  could  not 
arrive  at  so  high  a  pitch,  and  that  especially  because 
it  would  be  difficult  to  divert  the  affection  which  the 
people  of  France  naturally  have  for  the  Princes  of 
the  blood,  essayed  to  gain  to  his  side  the  old  Cardinal 
de  Bourbon,  who  was  uncle  of  our  Henri.  He  prom- 
ised the  Cardinal,  therefore,  that  on  the  death  of 
Henri  III.  he  would  employ  all  his  power  and  that 
of  his  friends  to  make  him  King ;  and  that  good  man, 
doting  with  age,  permitting  himself  to  be  flattered 
with  these  vain  hopes,  made  himself  the  bauble  of 
the  Duke's  ambition,  who  by  this  means  drew  to  his 
party  a  great  number  of  Catholics  who  leaned  to  the 
House  of  Bourbon. 

The  question  was  whether  the  uncle  ought  to  pre- 
cede the  son  of  the  elder  brother  in  the  succession; 
and  to  speak  truth,  the  business  was  not  without 
some  difficulty,  because,  according  to  the  custom  of 
Paris,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  and  many  other 
customs,  collateral  representation  has  no  place.  This 
point  of  right  was  diversely  held  by  the  reverend  judges, 
and  many  debates  were  held,  some  in  favour  of  the 


HENRI   IV.  67 

uncle,  and  others  of  the  nephew.  These  were  but 
combats  of  words;  the  sword  was  to  decide  the  dif- 
ference. It  seemed  to  many  great  politicians  that 
the  Due  de  Guise  acted  contrary  to  his  own  interests 
and  design  by  acknowledging  that  the  Cardinal  de 
Bourbon  ought  to  succeed  to  the  crown ;  this  being 
to  avow  that  after  his  death,  which  could  suffer  no 
long  delay,  it  would  appertain  to  our  Henri,  his 
nephew. 

Henri  IH.  knew  well  his  design,  or  rather  it  was 
notified  by  his  favourites,  who  saw  in  it  their  certain 
ruin,  and  therefore  so  much  desired  to  bring  back  the 
King  of  Navarre  to  the  Catholic  Church,  that  he 
might  deprive  the  Leaguers  of  that  specious  pretext 
they  had  to  entertain  the  League.  He  sent  therefore 
to  him  the  Due  d'Epernon,  who  essayed  to  convert 
him  by  reasons  of  interest  and  policy.  Our  Henri 
hearkened  to  him ;  but  he  testified  that  those  were 
not  motives  sufficiently  strong  to  make  him  change, 
and  sent  him  back  with  many  civilities. 

The  Huguenots  were  so  vain  as  to  publish  and 
cause  to  be  printed  the  conference  of  this  Prince  with 
the  Due  d'Epernon,  to  show  that  he  was  unshaken  in 
his  religion,  and  possibly  likewise  to  engage  him  more 
strongly  in  it.  The  Due  de  Guise  was  not  wanting  to 
profit  by  it,  and  demonstrated  to  the  Catholic  people 
the  stubbornness  of  this  Prince,  and  what  they  might 
hope  if  he  came  to  the  throne  with  such  sentiments. 


68  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

To  stop,  therefore,  his  way  to  it,  he  made  the  zeal- 
ous openly  renew  the  League  ;  and  boldly  bringing  it 
into  Paris,  where  some  new  religious  persons  inspired 
this  ardour  into  people's  souls  by  confessions,  held 
the  first  public  assembly  at  the  College  of  Fortet, 
which  was  called  the  cradle  of  the  League.  Many 
burgesses,  many  tradesmen,  and  likewise  some  clerks 
of  Paris,  entered  into  it.  They  carried  it  to  Rome, 
and  presented  it  to  Pope  Gregory  XIII.  for  his  appro- 
bation ;  but  he  never  would  give  it,  and  continually, 
so  long  as  he  lived,  disavowed  it. 

As  soon  as  it  grew  a  little  great  and  strong,  those 
who  had  engendered  it  made  it  appear  that  it  was  not 
only  to  provide  for  the  security  of  religion  for  the 
future,  but  that  at  present  they  might  approach 
themselves  near  to  the  crown;  and  that  they  not 
only  would  have  it  against  the  King  of  Navarre,  who 
was  to  succeed,  but  against  Henri  HI.,  who  now 
reigned.  They  kept  in  salary  certain  new  divines, 
who  durst  openly  sustain  that  a  prince  ought  to  be 
deposed  who  acquits  himself  not  well  of  his  duty : 
that  "  no  power  but  that  which  is  well  ordered  is  of 
God ;  otherwise,  when  it  passes  due  bounds  it  is  not 
authority,  but  usurpation ;  and  it  is  as  absurd  to  say 
that  he  ought  to  be  king  who  knows  not  how  to  gov- 
ern, or  who  is  deprived  of  understanding,  as  to  believe 
a  blind  man  a  fit  guide,  or  an  immovable  statue  able 
to  make  living  men  move." 


HENRI   IV.  69 

In  the  meantime,  the  Due  de  Guise  had  retired  to 
his  government  of  Champagne,  feigning  himself  dis- 
contented ;  but  it  was  to  make  the  Due  de  Lorraine 
sign  the  League,  out  of  hopes  he  would  cause  his  son 
to  succeed  to  the  crown,  to  which  he  pretended  to 
have  right  by  his  mother,  daughter  to  Henri  II.  He 
held  to  this  purpose  a  treaty  at  Joimalle,  where  he 
likewise  found  agents  from  the  King  of  Spain,  who 
signed  the  treaty,  and,  as  it  was  reported,  did  by  let- 
ters of  exchange  supply  the  Due  de  Guise  with  great 
simas  of  money. 

At  his  departure  thence,  the  Duke  assembled  troops 
on  all  sides.  His  friends  seized  on  as  many  places  as 
they  could,  not  only  amongst  the  Huguenots,  but  like- 
wise amongst  the  Catholics.  The  King  might  easily 
have  dissipated  these  levies  had  he  taken  the  field ; 
but  the  Queen-mother,  like  self-interested  physicians, 
who  would  for  their  profit  augment  the  disease,  with- 
held and  amused  him  in  his  closet,  persuading  him 
that  if  he  would  leave  to  her  the  management  of 
this  affair  she  would  easily  reduce  the  Duke  to  his 
obedience.  To  this  purpose  she  held  a  conference 
with  him  at  Vitry,  and  so  gave  him  time  to  aug- 
ment his  party ;  and  when  he  saw  himself  in  a 
state  to  fear  nothing,  he  broke  up  the  conference, 
and  made  show  of  some  resolution  to  come  directly 
to  Paris. 

The  King,  astonished,  prayed  his  mother  to  con- 


70  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

elude  an  accommodation  upon  any  terms ;  which  she 
did  by  the  Treaty  of  Nemours,  by  which  she  granted 
to  the  Duke  and  other  princes  of  his  house  the  govern- 
ment of  several  provinces,  many  great  sums  of  money, 
together  with  a  most  bloody  edict  against  the  Hugue- 
nots, which  forbade  the  profession  of  any  other  religion 
than  the  Catliolic,  under  penalty  of  confiscation  of 
goods  and  estate ;  with  command  to  all  preachers  and 
ministers  to  depart  from  the  realm  within  one  month, 
and  all  Huguenots  of  what  degree  or  quality  soever 
within  six  months,  or  otherwise  abjure  their  false  re- 
ligion. This  edict  was  called  the  Edict  of  Juillet, 
which  the  League  further  constrained  the  King  to 
•carry  himself  into  the  Parliament,  and  cause  it  to  be 
ratified.^ 

A  little  after,  news  arrived  from  Rome  that  Sixtus 
v.,  who  succeeded  Gregory  XIII.,  had  approved 
the  League,  and  had  besides  fulminated  terrible  bulls 
against  the  King  of  Navarre  and  Prince  de  Condd, 
declaring  them  heretics,  apostates,  chiefs,  favourers 
and  protectors  of  heretics,  and  as  such  falling  under 
the  censures  and  pains  concluded  on  the  laws  and 
canons,  depriving  them  and  their  descendants  of  all 
lands  and  dignities,  incapable  to  succeed  to  any 
principality  whatsoever,    especially   to    the   kingdom 


1  It  is  said  that  when  Henri  of  Navarre  heard  of  the  King's  agree- 
ment with  the  League,  his  apprehension  for  his  party  was  such  that  his 
moustache  became  white.  —  Mathieu  :  "  History  of  France,"  vol.  i. 


HENRI   IV.  71 

of  France ;  and  not  only  absolving  their  subjects 
from  all  oaths  of  fidelity,  but  absolutely  forbidding 
them  to  obey  them. 

It  was  now  that  our  Henri  had  need  of  all  the 
forces  both  of  his  courage  and  virtue  to  sustain 
such  rude  assaults.  He  seemed  in  a  manner  lulled 
asleep  by  his  pleasures.  When  the  noise  of  these 
great  assaults  awakened  him,  he  recalled  all  his  vir- 
tue, and  began  to  make  it  appear  more  vigorously 
than  ever  before.  And  he  certainly  afterwards  avowed 
that  his  enemies  had  highly  obliged  him  by  persecut- 
ing him  in  this  manner ;  for  had  they  left  him  in 
repose,  he  would  not  have  been  constrained  to  think 
of  his  affairs,  and,  at  the  death  of  Henri  III.,  would 
not  have  been  in  a  state  to  attempt  or  entertain  the 
crown. 

He  now  did  two  renowned  actions.  The  first  was 
his  commanding  Philippe  de  Mornay  (du  Plessis  Mor- 
nay),  a  gentleman  of  excellent  education,  and  who 
could  be  reproached  with  nothing  but  being  a  Hugue- 
not, to  answer  the  manifesto  of  the  League  by  a 
declaration  which  he  caused  to  be  drawn  (June  10, 
1585).  In  this  last  piece  (the  chiefs  of  the  League 
having  spread  abroad  divers  calumnies  against  his 
honour)  he  with  all  submission  besought  the  King 
his  sovereign  that  he  would  not  be  offended  if  he 
did  pronounce,  having  still  the  respect  due  to  his 
Majesty,  that  they  did  falsely  and  maliciously  lie ; 


72  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

and  moreover,  that  to  spare  the  blood  of  his  nobles 
and  avoid  the  desolation  of  the  poor  people,  those 
infinite  disorders,  and  above  all  those  blasphemies, 
bm'nings,  and  violations  which  the  license  of  war 
must  cause,  he  offered  to  the  Due  de  Guise,  chief 
of  the  League,  to  decide  this  quarrel  by  his  person 
against  his,  one  to  one,  two  to  two,  ten  to  ten,  or 
such  number  as  he  should  please,  with  arms  gen- 
erally in  use  by  cavaliers  of  honour,  either  in  the 
realm  of  France,  or  in  such  place  as  his  Majesty 
should  command,  or  else  in  such  place  as  the  Due 
de  Guise  himself  should  choose. 

This  declaration  had  a  great  effect  on  people's 
spirits.  They  said  that  force  could  not  be  justly  em- 
ployed against  him  who  so  far  submitted  himself  to 
reason ;  and  the  greater  part  of  the  nobility  approved 
this  generous  procedure,  and  proclaimed  aloud  that 
the  Due  de  Guise  ought  not  to  refuse  so  great  an 
honour. 

That  Duke  wanted  no  courage  to  accept  the  defiance ; 
but  he  considered  that  drawing  his  sword  against  a 
Prince  of  the  blood  was  in  France  accounted  a  kind 
of  parricide;  and  that  he  should  appear  to  have  re- 
duced the  cause  of  religion  and  of  the  public  to  a 
quarrel.  He  therefore  prudently  answered  that  he 
esteemed  the  person  of  the  King  of  Navarre,  and 
would  have  no  controversy  with  him ;  but  that  he 
interested  himself  only  in  the  Catholic  religion,  which 


HEXRI   IV.  73 

was  threatened,  and  for  the  tranquillity  of  the  king- 
dom, which  depended  only  and  absolutely  on  the  unity 
of  religion. 

Henri's  other  action  was  as  follows.  Having  heard 
the  noise  of  those  paper  thunderbolts  which  the  Pope 
had  thrown  out  against  him,  he  despatched  a  repre- 
sentative to  the  King  to  make  his  complaints  to  him, 
and  to  demonstrate  to  him  that  this  procedure  con- 
cerned his  Majesty  nearer  than  himself ;  that  he 
ought  to  judge  that  if  the  Pope  took  upon  himself 
to  decide  concerning  his  succession,  and  should  seize 
to  himself  a  right  to  declare  a  Prince  of  the  blood 
unable  to  succeed  to  the  crown,  he  might  afterwards 
well  pass  further,  and  dethrone  the  King  himself, 
as  Zachary  is  reported  to  have  formerly  degraded 
Childeric  III. 

Upon  these  remonstrances,  the  King  hindered  the 
publication  of  those  bulls  in  his  dominions.  But  our 
Henri,  not  contenting  himself  therewith,  and  knowing 
himself  to  have  friends  at  Rome,  waxed  so  bold  as  to 
fix  his  and  the  Prince  de  Condi's  opposition  at  the 
corners  of  the  chief  streets  of  that  city,  by  which  those 
Princes  appealed  from  the  sentence  of  Sixtus  V.  to 
the  Court  of  Peerage  of  France,  giving  the  lie  to 
whoever  accused  them  of  the  crime  of  heresy,  offer- 
ing to  prove  the  contrary  in  a  general  council,  and 
in  the  end  professing  that  they  would  revenge  upon 
him    and    upon   all   his   successors  the   injury  done 


74  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

their  King,  the  royal  family,  and  all  the  courts  of 
Parliament,^ 

It  could  not  but  be  supposed  that  this  opposition 
would  incense  to  the  utmost  the  spirit  of  Sixtus  Y. ; 
and  indeed  at  first  he  testified  a  very  furious  emotion. 
However,  when  his  choler  was  a  little  assuaged,  he 
admired  the  great  courage  of  that  King  who  at  such 
a  distance  had  known  how  to  revenge  himself  and  fix 
the  marks  of  his  resentment  even  at  the  gates  of  his 
palace ;  in  such  manner  he  conceived  so  great  an 
esteem  for  him  (so  true  is  it  that  virtue  makes  itself 
reverenced  by  its  very  enemies)  that  he  was  often 
afterwards  heard  to  say  that,  of  all  those  who  reigned 
in  Christendom,  there  was  none  but  this  Prince  and 
Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  to  whom  he  would  have 
communicated  those  great  things  which  agitated  his 
spirit,  if  they  had  not  been  heretics.  Nor  could  all 
the  prayers  of  the  League  ever  oblige  him  to  furnish 
anything  towards  the  charges  of  this  war ;  and  his 
refusal  possibly  overwhelmed  the  greater  part  of  their 
enterprises,  because  their  hopes  in  part  depended  on  a 
million  which  he  had  promised  them. 

Now,  as  on  their  side  the  chiefs  of  the  League 
endeavoured  to  attract  to  their  party  all  the  lords 
and  cities  they  could,  our  Henri  on  his  part  reunited 
with  him  all  his  friends,  both  of  the  one  and  the  other 

1  This  piece  of  audacity  was  drawn  up  at  Paris  by  Pierre  de  L'Estoile, 
King's  Counsellor. 


HENRI   IV.  75 

religion :  the  Mar^chal  de  Damville-Montmorency, 
Governor  of  Languedoc ;  the  Due  de  Montpensier, 
Prince  of  the  blood,  who  was  Governor  of  Poitou, 
with  his  son,  the  Prince  de  Dombes ;  the  Prince  de 
Cond^,  who  held  a  part  of  Poitou,  of  Saintange,  and 
of  Angoumois  ;  the  Comte  de  Soissons,  and  the  Prince 
de  Conti,  his  brother.  Of  these  five  Princes  of  the 
blood,  the  last  three  were  his  cousins-german,  the  first 
two  were  removed  one  degree  further  ;  and  all  pro- 
fessed the  Catholic  religion,  save  only  the  Prince  de 
Cond^.  He  had  likewise  on  his  part  Lesdiguieres,  who 
from  a  plain  gentleman  had  by  his  valour  elevated 
himself  to  so  high  a  point  that  he  was  master  of  the 
Dauphinate,  and  made  the  Duke  of  Savoy  tremble ; 
Claudius  de  la  Tremouille,  who  possessed  great  lands 
in  Poitou  and  Brittany,  and  had  some  time  before 
turned  Huguenot  that  he  might  have  the  honour  to 
marry  his  daughter  to  the  Prince  de  Conde ;  Henri 
de  la  Tour,  Yicomte  de  Turenne,  who,  either  out  of 
complacency  or  true  persuasion,  had  espoused  the  new 
religion ;  Chastillon,  son  to  the  Amiral  de  Coligny ; 
La  Boulaye,  Seigneur  Poitevin ;  Rene,  chief  of  the 
House  of  Rohan ;  Georges  de  Clermont  d'Amboise ; 
FranQois,  Comte  de  La  Rochefoucauld ;  the  Seigneur 
d'Aubeterre ;  Jacques  de  Caumont  La  Force ;  the 
Seigneurs  de  Pons,  Saint  Gelais-Lansac ;  with  many 
other  nobles  and  gentlemen  of  renown,  all  or  most 
of  the  new  religion.     At  the  same  time  he  despatched 


76  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

to  Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  and  to  the  Prot- 
estant princes  of  Germany,  such  able  agents  that 
they  all  joined  together  in  a  strong  union,  the  one 
to  maintain  the  others ;  so  that,  all  these  being 
united,  all  things  happened  contrary  to  what  the 
League  expected ;  and  our  Henri  found  himself  forti- 
fied in  such  manner  that  he  had  no  longer  any  appre- 
hension of  being  oppressed  without  having  the  means 
to  defend  himself. 

King  Henri  III.  was  extremely  perplexed  at  this 
war,^  which  was  maintained  at  his  expense  and  to  his 
great  prejudice,  since  they  disputed  the  succession,  he 
yet  living  and  well,  and  already  considered  him  as  one 
dead.  He  loved  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  party, 
but  did  so  much  cherish  his  favourites  (strange  blind- 
ness !)  that  he  fain  would  have  parted  his  estate 
amongst  them  had  it  been  in  his  power.  The  League 
on  their  side  pretended  to  have  power  enough  to  carry 
it;  and  our  Henri  hoped  to  frustrate  the  designs  of 
both.  The  Queen-mother,  having  other  wishes  for  the 
children  of  her  daughter  married  to  the  Due  de  Lor- 
raine, promised  the  King  to  find  means  to  calm  all 
these  tempests.  To  this  purpose  she  procured  a  truce 
with  our  Henri,  during  which  an  interview  was  agreed 
upon  between  him  and  her  at  the  castle  of  St.  Brix, 
near  Coignac,  where  both  met  in  December. 

1  This  war  has  been  called  the  "  War  of  the  Three  Henries,"  namely, 
Henri  III.,  Henri,  Due  de  Guise,  and  Henri  of  Navarre. 


HENRI  IV.  77 

There  was  some  difficulty  to  find  security  for  both ; 
but  especially  for  the  Queen-mother,  who  was  wonder- 
fully distrustful.  Our  Henri  thereupon  did  an  action 
of  great  generosity,  which  he  managed  in  this  manner. 
There  had  been  a  truce  agreed  upon  for  the  security 
of  this  conference,  in  such  sort  that  if  either  party 
broke  it,  they  were  in  fault,  and  might  justly  be 
arrested.  Now  some  of  our  Henri's  followers,  feign- 
ing to  be  traitors,  had  enticed  some  of  the  Catholic 
captains,  too  greedy  of  the  booty,  to  Fontenay,  which 
they  would  have  let  them  take.  By  this  means  the 
Catholics  would  have  remained  convicted  of  perfidy, 
and  he  would  have  had  good  pretence  to  arrest  the 
Queen-mother ;  but  this  generous  Prince,  having  heard 
of  this  foul  conspiracy,  was  extremely  vexed  against 
those  who  contrived  it,  and  forbade  them  to  continue 
it.  Was  not  this  proof  to  all  men  that  he  had  the 
true  sentiments  of  honour  founded  in  his  soul,  and  not 
the  mere  semblance  ? 

And  as  he  testified  his  generosity  on  that  occasion, 
so  he  made  known  his  constancy  and  the  power  of 
his  spirit  in  all  the  discourse.  The  Queen  demanding 
of  him  what  it  was  he  desired,  he  answered,  regarding 
those  ladies  she  had  brought  with  her,  "  Madame, 
there  is  nothing  that  I  would  have ; "  as  if  he  would 
have  said  that  he  would  not  allow  himself  to  be 
drawn  away  by  such  allurements.  She  endeavoured 
above  all  things  to  disunite  him  from  the  other  chiefs 


78  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

of  his  party,  or  to  render  him  suspected,  offering  all 
that  he  demanded  for  himself ;  but  he,  knowing  well 
her  stratagem,  held  firmly  to  his  point  that  he  could 
not  treat  about  anything  without  communicating  it  to 
his  friends. 

After  a  long  conversation,  she  once  demanding  of 
him  if  the  pains  she  had  taken  would  produce  no 
more  fruit,  especially  to  her,  who  only  wished  for 
repose,  he  answered  her  :  "  Madame,  1  am  not  the 
cause  of  it,  nor  is  it  I  who  hinder  you  from  resting 
in  your  bed  ;  it  is  you  that  hinder  me  from  resting  in 
mine.  The  pains  you  take  please  and  nourish  you, 
for  repose  is  the  greatest  enemy  of  your  life."  (Dec. 
14,  1586.) 

He  made  many  other  replies  very  lively  and  full 
of  spirit ;  but  above  all,  that  was  notable  which  he 
made  to  the  Due  de  Nevers,  of  the  House  of  Gonzaga, 
who  accompanied  the  Queen-mother.  This  nobleman 
presuming  once  to  tell  him  that  he  might  live  much 
more  honourably  near  the  King  than  among  those 
people  who  had  no  authority ;  and  that  if  he  should 
have  occasion  for  money  at  Rochelle,  he  would  scarce 
have  the  credit  to  raise  one  impost,  he  fiercely  replied : 
"  Monsieur,  I  do  at  Rochelle  all  that  I  please,  because 
I  shall  please  to  do  nothing  but  what  I  ought." 

This  conference  at  St.  Brix  having  produced  noth- 
ing but  new  exasperations,  and  the  Queen-mother  hav- 
ing returned,  the   Guises,  who   endeavoured  by   all 


HENRI   IV.  79 

means  possible  to  revenge  themselves  on  the  favour- 
ites, made  offer  of  their  service  to  our  Henri ;  and 
the  Due  de  Mayenne  sent  to  tell  him  that  there  might 
be  found  means  for  an  accommodation,  if  he  would 
meet  them;  that  he  would  come  to  find  him  with 
four  horse  at  whatever  place  he  pleased,  and  that  he 
would  give  him  his  wife  and  children  for  hostage. 
This  negotiation  had  no  success,  nor  can  I  find  the 
cause  why  it  was  interrupted. 

The  rest  of  the  winter  passed  in  the  two  Courts 
in  feasts  and  dances  ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  miser- 
ies and  troubles  of  the  kingdom.  Queen  Catherine 
had  introduced  the  custom  of  dancing .  in  all  places 
and  at  all  feasts.  This  she  did,  it  was  said,  to  amuse 
the  great  ones  of  the  Court  in  those  vain  diversions  ; 
there  being  nothing  which  more  dissipates  the  powers 
of  the  spirit,  nor  which  is  more  capable — if  we  may 
say  so  —  to  dissolve  the  forces  of  the  soul,  than  the 
ravishing  sound  of  violins,  the  continual  agitation  of 
the  body,  and  the  charms  of  ladies.  After  the  exam- 
ples of  the  Court,  dances  and  masks  reigned  in  all 
the  realm  ;  nor  could  the  remonstrances  of  the  minis- 
ters hinder  these  dances  among  the  greater  part  of 
the  Huguenot  noblemen,  though  there  were  still  some 
who  could  not  suffer  it. 

In  the  spring  some  enterprises  began  on  both  sides ; 
but  they  were  nothing  in  comparison  to  what  was 
done  towards  the  end  of  the  smnmer.     The  Protes- 


80  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

tant  princes  of  Germany  sent  an  army  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Huguenots,  consisting  of  five  thousand 
lansquenets,  or  German  foot,  sixteen  thousand  Swiss, 
and  six  thousand  German  horse.  They  traversed  Lor- 
raine and  Champagne,  afterwards  passed  the  Seine, 
and  marched  towards  the  Loire,  as  if  they  would  have 
passed  it,  or  coasted  along  it  in  their  readvancing. 
At  the  same  time  the  King  of  Navarre  had  gathered 
his  forces  towards  Rochelle,  and  endeavoured  to  come 
to  meet  them  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire  ;  but  he  was 
hindered  by  an  army  of  the  King,  commanded  by  the 
Due  de  Joyeuse,  who  had  orders  to  diligently  pursue 
him.  The  Due  de  Guise  had  likewise  gathered  the 
forces  of  his  party ;  and  though  they  were  very  small, 
followed  sometimes  the  German  horse,  sometimes 
skirted  them,  and  oftentimes  mixed  himself  amongst 
them  without  any  great  danger ;  so  much  the  rather 
because  this  too  weighty  body  of  strangers  could  not 
easily  move,  being  troubled  with  a  great  baggage, 
not  having  a  chief  either  of  any  great  credit,  or  suf- 
ficiently intelligent  to  conduct,  and  all  its  captains 
being  at  variance  one  with  the  other. 

By  reason  of  all  these  acts  this  army  could  never 
take  any  good  resolution.  The  Loire  was  fordable 
in  many  places,  for  it  was  about  the  end  of  Septem- 
ber ;  but  nevertheless  they  would  not  pass  it,  but 
spread  themselves  in  the  country  of  Beausse,  expect- 
ing news  from  the  King  of  Navarre,  instead  of  ad- 


HENRI   IV.  81 

vancing  against  the  Nivernois,  and  gaining  Burgundy. 
The  intention  of  the  King  of  Navarre  was  to  advance 
along  the  Dordogne,  and  thence  enter  into  Guienne, 
and,  gathering  all  his  forces,  to  meet  the  Protestant 
army  in  Burgundy,  by  the  favour  of  those  provinces 
which  were  his  friends.  But  the  Due  de  Joyeuse  ob- 
stinately pursued  him,  imagining  he  fled  because  in 
effect  he  avoided  fighting,  having  no  other  end  than  a 
conjunction  with  the  Germans. 

This  Duke  had  much  declined  in  favour  with  the 
King,  who  had  received  advice  that  he  inclined  much 
to  the  League  ;  not  that  he  loved  the  Guises,  but  be- 
cause he  had  permitted  it  to  be  put  into  his  head  by 
his  flatterers  that  he  deserved  to  be  chief  of  that  great 
party  ;  and  he  held  the  destruction  of  the  Huguenots 
so  certain  that  he  had  obtained  from  the  Pope  the  con- 
fiscation of  all  the  sovereign  territories  of  our  Henri. 
Desiring,  therefore,  to  sustain  his  reputation  and  fa- 
vour, which  were  then  tottering,  he  pm-sued  him  so 
closely  that  he  overtook  him  near  to  Coutras. 

The  army  of  Joyeuse  was,  as  one  may  say,  all  of 
gold,  shining  with  silver  and  gold  laces,  with  damasked 
arms,  with  feathers  in  great  plumes,  with  embroidered 
scarfs  and  velvet  coats,  with  which  every  nobleman, 
according  to  the  mode  of  the  times,  had  furnished  his 
companies  ;  but  the  army  of  the  King  of  Navarre  was 
all  of  iron,  having  no  other  than  grizzled  arms,  with- 
out any  ornament,  with  great  belts  of  buff,  and  labour- 


82  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

ers'  clothes.  The  first  had  the  advantage  in  number, 
having  six  hundred  horse  and  a  thousand  foot  more 
than  the  other ;  the  half  of  its  infantry  were  dragoons, 
and  its  cavalry  almost  all  lancers,  mounted  on  man- 
aged horses.  It  had  besides  for  it  the  name  and  au- 
thority of  the  King  and  assurance  of  rewards ;  but  the 
better  half  of  it  was  composed  of  new  troops,  which 
wanted  order  and  discipline.  It  had  a  general  without 
authority  ;  a  hundred  chiefs  instead  of  one ;  and  all 
young  people,  brought  up  in  the  delights  of  the  Court, 
having  sufficient  heart  and  corn-age,  but  without  any 
experience. 

The  other,  on  the  contrary,  was  composed  of  all  the 
choice  men  of  its  party,  —  the  old  remnant  of  the 
battles  of  Jarnac  and  Montcontour,  people  bred  up  in 
the  mystery  of  war,  and  hardened  by  the  continual 
endm-ance  of  fights  and  adversities.  It  had  at  its 
head  three  Princes  of  the  blood,  the  chief  of  them  well 
obeyed  and  reverenced  as  the  presumptive  heir  to  the 
crown,  the  love  of  the  soldiery,  and  hope  of  all  good 
Frenchmen ;  besides,  it  was  armed  with  a  necessity 
either  to  overcome  or  die,  —  armour  of  more  proof 
than  either  steel  or  brass. 

Orders  being  given,  the  King  of  Navarre  called  all 
his  chiefs,  and  from  a  little  rising  ground  exhorted 
them  in  a  few  words,  but  such  as  were  agreeable  both 
to  his  quality  and  the  time  ;  taking  Heaven  to  witness 
that  he  fought  not  against  his  King,  but  for  the  defence 


HENRI  IV.  83 

of  his  religion  and  right.  Afterwards  addressing  him- 
self to  the  two  Princes  of  the  blood,  Cond^  and  Sois- 
sons,  "  I  shall  say  nothing  else  to  you,"  said  he,  "  but 
that  you  are  of  the  House  of  Bourbon ;  and  if  God 
live,  I  will  now  show  you  that  I  am  worthy  to  be  the 
first-born  of  the  family."  ^ 

His  valour  that  day  appeared  above  that  of  all 
others.  He  had  placed  on  his  head-piece  a  plume 
of  white  feathers,  both  to  make  himself  known  and 
because  he  loved  that  colom^;  so  that  some  putting 
themselves  before  him,  out  of  design  to  shelter  and 
defend  his  person,  he  cried  out  to  them,  "  To  your 
quarter,  I  pray  you !  Do  not  shadow  me,  for  I  would 
appear."  (A  bravery  without  doubt  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  a  conqueror,  but  which  would  be  temerity  and 
an  unpardonable  fault  in  a  prince  well  established.) 
He  broke  the  first  ranks  of  the  enemy,  and  took  pris- 
oners with  his  own  hand,  and  came  even  to  handigrips 
with  one  named  Chateau-Reynard,  cornet  of  a  com- 
pany of  men-at-arms,  saying  to  him,  "Deliver  thy 
colours  ! " 

The  battle  being  gained,  some  having  seen  the  fugi- 
tives, who  made  a  halt,  came  to  tell  him  that  the  army 
of  the  Mar^chal  de  Matignon  appeared.  He  received 
this  news  as  a  new  subject  of  glory ;  and,  turning 
bravely  towards  his  people,  "  Let  us  go,  my  friends," 

1 "  And  we,"  answered  Cond4,  "  will  show  you  that  you  have  good 
juniors."  —Mabtin's  "  History  of  France,"  vol.  x.,  p.  41. 


84  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

said  he ;  "  this  will  be  a  thing  never  before  seen,  two 
battles  in  one  day." 

It  was  not  only  his  valour  that  made  him  worthy 
to  be  admired  on  this  occasion ;  it  was  likewise  his 
justice,  moderation,  and  clemency.  For  his  justice 
we  may  recount  what  follows. 

He  had  debauched  the  daughter  of  an  officer  of  Ro- 
chelle,  a  thing  which  had  dishonoured  that  family  and 
very  much  scandalised  him  among  the  Rochellais.  A 
minister,  as  the  squadrons  were  almost  ready  to  go  to 
the  charge,  and  the  prayer  was  to  be  made,  took  the 
liberty  to  remonstrate  with  him  that  God  could  not 
favour  his  arms  if  he  did  not  beforehand  demand  par- 
don for  that  offence,  repair  the  scandal  by  a  public 
satisfaction,  and  restore  honour  to  a  family  he  had  de- 
prived of  it.  The  good  King  humbly  hearkened  to 
these  remonstrances,  fell  upon  his  knees,  demanded  of 
God  pardon  for  his  fault,  and  prayed  all  those  who 
were  present  to  serve  as  witnesses  of  his  repentance 
and  to  assure  the  father  of  the  maiden  that  if  God 
gave  him  the  grace  to  live,  he  would  repair  as  much 
as  possible  the  honour  he  had  deprived  her  of.  So 
Christian  a  submission  drew  tears  from  all  present, 
nor  were  there  any  who  would  not  have  ventured  a 
thousand  lives  for  a  prince  who  so  cordially  inclined 
himself  to  do  reason  to  his  inferiors. 

Having  thus  overcome  himself,  God  made  him  con- 
queror over  his  enemies ;  and  who  knows  but  that  he 


HENRI  IV.  85 

exalted  him  because  he  so  Christianly  humbled  him- 
self ?  The  enemy's  army  was  wholly  defeated,  with 
the  loss  of  five  thousand  men,  and  all  their  cannon, 
baggage,  and  ensigns.  All  their  chief  commanders 
were  taken  prisoners,  except  two  or  three,  among 
whom  were  the  Due  de  Joyeuse,  and  Saint  Saviour, 
his  brother,  who  were  found  dead  on  the  field.^ 

That  night,  om*  conqueror,  finding  his  lodgings  full 
of  prisoners  and  wounded  persons  of  the  enemy,  was 
constrained  to  cause  his  bed  to  be  carried  to  those  of 
Du  Plessis  Mornay ;  but  the  body  of  Joyeuse  being 
laid  forth  on  the  table  in  the  hall,  he  was  forced  to 
go  to  an  upper  room ;  and  there,  while  he  supped, 
were  presented  unto  him  the  prisoners,  fifty-six  foot 
ensigns,  and  twenty-two  standards  and  cornets. 

It  was  a  fair  and  glorious  spectacle  for  this  Prince 
to  have  under  his  feet  that  enemy  who  had  obtained 
from  the  Pope  the  confiscation  of  his  territories;  to 
see  his  table  environed  with  so  many  noble  captains, 
and  his  chamber  tapestried  with  ensigns.  But,  to 
speak  truly,  it  was  much  more  agreeable  to  generous 
souls  to  see  that,  amongst  so  many  subjects  of  vanity 
and  pride,  and  in  so  just  resentment  of  those  bloody 
injuries  done  him  (things  which  often  transport  the 
sweetest  souls  to  insolence  and  cruelty),  there  could 
not  be  observed  either  in  his  words  or  countenance 


1  This  was  the  battle  of  Coutras,  fought  on  October  20,  1587.    The 
victors  lost  only  about  forty  men. 


86  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

the  least  sign  that  might  breed  any  suspicion  that 
either  his  constancy  or  goodness  were  in  the  least 
altered ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  showing  himself  as 
courteous  and  humane  in  his  victory  as  he  had  shown 
himself  brave  and  redoubtable  in  fight,  he  sent  back 
almost  all  the  prisoners  without  ransom,  restored 
their  baggage  to  many,  took  great  care  of  the 
wounded,  and  gave  the  bodies  of  Joyeuse  and  Saint 
Saviour  to  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne,  who  was  their 
kinsman.  He  despatched  the  next  morning  his  mas- 
ter of  requests  to  the  King,  to  entreat  peace  of  him ; 
whence  it  was  judged  that  so  great  a  courage  would 
overcome  all  its  enemies,  and  that  nothing  would  be 
capable  to  reverse  his  fortune  whom  so  great  a  pros- 
perity was  not  able  to  move. 

He  was,  however,  blamed  for  not  having  hotly  pur- 
sued his  victory,  and  for  having  permitted  that  trium- 
phant army  to  break  up,  not  again  employing  it  in 
some  great  exploit.  It  was  believed,  and  there  was 
much  appearance  for  it,  that  he  would  not  press 
things  too  forward  for  fear  of  too  much  offending 
the  King,  with  whom  he  desired  yet  to  keep  some 
measures,  hoping  daily  that  he  might  reconcile  him- 
self to  him,  and  return  to  Court,  where  it  was  neces- 
sary he  should  be,  that  he  might  be  in  a  condition  to 
take  the  crown  when  Henri  IH.  should  die.  In  fine, 
were  it  for  this  reason  or  any  other,  he  retired  into 
Gascony,  and  from  thence  into  Beam,  under  pretext 


HENRI  IV.  87 

of  some  pressing  affair,  carrying  with  him  only  five 
hundred  horse  and  the  Comte  de  Soissons,  whom  he 
kept  near  him  in  the  hope  of  making  him  espouse  his 
sister.  The  Prince  de  Cond^  returned  to  Rochelle, 
and  Turenne  to  P^rigord. 

In  the  meantime  that  great  army  of  Germans,  hav- 
ing received  many  checks  in  several  places,  —  espe- 
cially at  Auneau  in  Beausse,  where  the  Due  de  Guise 
slew  or  took  prisoners  three  thousand  horse,  and 
afterwards  at  Pont  de  Gien,  where  the  Due  d'Epernon 
took  twelve  hundred  lansquenets  and  almost  all  the 
cannon,  —  willingly  hearkened  to  an  agreement  which 
the  King  caused  to  be  proposed  to  them,  and  after- 
wards retired  by  Burgundy  and  the  county  of  Mont- 
beliard,  but  were  still  pursued  farther  in  that  county 
by  the  Due  de  Guise. 

Now  began  the  year  1588,  which  all  judicious  as- 
trologers had  called  the  wonderful  year,  because  they 
foresaw  so  great  a  number  of  strange  accidents  and 
such  confusion  in  natural  causes  that  they  were 
assured  that,  if  the  end  of  the  world  came  not,  there 
would  happen  at  least  a  universal  change.  Their 
prognostications  were  seconded  by  a  number  of  prodi- 
gies which  happened  throughout  all  Europe.  In 
France  there  were  great  earthquakes,  along  the  river 
Loire  and  likewise  in  Normandy.  The  sea  was  for 
six  weeks  together  disturbed  with  continual  tempests, 
which  seemed  to  confound   both  heaven   and  earth. 


88  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

In  the  air  appeared  divers  fiery  spectres,  and  on  the 
24th  of  January  Paris  was  covered  with  so  horrible 
a  darkness  that  those  who  had  the  best  eyes  could 
scarce  see  anything  at  noonday  without  the  help  of 
lights.  All  these  prodigies  seemed  to  signify  what 
soon  after  took  place,  —  the  death  of  the  Prince  de 
Conde,  the  besieging  of  Paris,  the  subversion  of  the 
whole  realm,  the  murdering  of  the  Guises,  and  lastly, 
the  murder  of  Henri  III. 

As  for  the  Prince  de  Conde,  he  died  in  the  month 
of  March,  at  St.  Jean  d'Angely,  where  he  then  made 
his  residence.  Though  there  had  been  a  secret  jeal- 
ousy between  him  and  the  King  of  Navarre,  even  to 
the  making  of  two  factions  in  their  party,  yet  the 
King  deplored  his  loss  with  an  extreme  grief,  and, 
having  shut  himself  up  in  his  closet  with  the  Comte 
de  Soissons,  he  was  heard  to  utter  great  cries  and 
say  that  he  had  lost  his  right  hand.  However,  after 
his  grief  had  a  little  evaporated,  he  recovered  his 
spirits,  and,  casting  all  his  trust  on  divine  protection, 
came  forth,  saying,  with  a  heart  full  of  Christian 
assurance,  "  God  is  my  refuge  and  strength ;  in  Him 
alone  I  will  hope,  and  I  shall  not  be  confounded." 

It  was  truly  a  great  loss  for  him.  He  had  now  to 
bear  alone  all  the  weight  of  affairs ;  and  being  de- 
prived of  this  supporter,  remained  more  exposed  to  the 
attempts  of  the  League,  who  had  now  only  to  give  a 
like  blow  to  his  person  to  remain  conquerors  in  all 


HENRI  ly.  89 

their  affairs.  He  had  therefore  just  cause  to  fear 
their  attenipts.  However,  the  Due  de  Guise  had  a 
heart  so  noble  and  great  that  whilst  he  lived  he 
would  never  suffer  such  detestable  ways. 

The  confidence  of  the  League  increased  wonder- 
fully on  the  death  of  the  Prince  de  Conde.  They 
manifested  this  by  extraordinary  rejoicings,  and  de- 
clared it  to  be  an  effect  of  the  justice  of  God  and  of 
the  apostolic  curses.  The  Huguenots,  on  the  contrary, 
were  in  extreme  consternation,  considering  that  they 
had  lost  in  him  their  most  assured  chief,  because  they 
believed  him  firmly  persuaded  in  their  religion,  but 
had  not  the  same  opinion  of  the  King  of  Navarre.  In 
effect,  confusion  and  disorder  were  so  great  amongst 
them  that,  to  all  appearance,  had  the  League  con- 
tinued strongly  to  prosecute  them,  it  might  have  soon 
ruined  them.  The  King  hated  them  mortally,  and 
would  willingly  have  consented ;  but  he  wished  to 
manage  things  in  such  a  manner  that  their  destruc- 
tion should  not  prove  the  aggrandising  of  the  Due  de 
Guise  and  his  own  loss.  But  this  Duke,  knowing  his 
intentions,  pressed  him  continually  to  give  him  forces 
to  utterly  exterminate  the  Huguenots,  in  whose  ruin 
he  hoped  to  involve  the  King  of  Navarre. 

He  had  this  advantage  over  the  King,  that  he  had 
acquired  the  love  of  the  people,  principally  by  two 
means,  —  the  first  by  his  opposing  himself  to  the  new 
imposts,  and  the  second  by  continually  being  at  vari- 


90  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

ance  with  the  favourites,  nor  ever  bending  before  them ; 
whilst  the  doing  of  the  contrary  things  had  made  the 
King  fall  into  an  extremely  low  esteem,  and  had  like- 
wise taken  away  the  fervour  of  some  of  his  servants' 
love.     Here  is  an  example. 

The  King  had  two  great  men  in  his  council,  Pierre 
d'Espinac,  Archbishop  of  Lyons,  and  Yilleroy,  secre- 
tary of  state.  The  Due  d'Epernon,  who  was  fierce 
and  haughty,  would  treat  them  according  to  his 
proud  humour.  They  grew  exasperated  against  him, 
and  thereupon  changed  their  affection  to  the  Due  de 
Guise's  party,  but  without  doubt  still  in  their  hearts 
remaining  most  faithful  to  the  King  and  crown  of 
France,  as  afterwards  well  appeared,  especially  in  the 
person  of  Villeroy. 

In  the  meantime  the  King  lived  after  the  ordinary 
manner,  in  the  profusions  of  an  odious  luxury  and  in 
the  laziness  of  a  contemptible  retreat,  passing  his 
time  either  in  seeing  dances  or  in  playing  with  little 
dogs,  of  which  he  had  great  numbers  of  all  sorts ;  or 
else  in  teaching  paroquets  to  speak,  or  in  cutting 
images,  or  in  other  occupations  more  becoming  an 
infant  than  a  king.^ 

But  the  Due  de  Guise  lost  no  time.  He  daily 
made  new  friends,  kept  his  old  ones,  caressed  the  peo- 
ple, testified  a  great  zeal  for  the  ecclesiastics,  under- 

1  The  nuncio  of  the  Pope  thus  describes  Henri  III. :  "  II  est  f aible  et 
luxurieux,  11  n'aura  pas  de  posterite." 


HENRI   IV.  91 

taking  their  defence  against  all  who  would  oppress 
them,  and  everywhere  appeared  with  the  splendour 
and  gravity  of  a  prince,  but  yet  without  pride  or  arro- 
gance. The  Parisians  were  intoxicated  with  esteem 
for  him ;  the  greater  part  of  the  Parliament  and  most 
of  the  other  officers  attended  his  functions,  and  testi- 
fied to  him  the  affection  they  owed  to  the  service  of 
the  King. 

There  were  an  infinite  number  of  people  who  had 
signed  the  League ;  and  in  the  sixteen  quarters  or 
wards  of  Paris,  when  they  could  not  gain  the  quar- 
teniers,  or  aldermen,  they  chose  one  of  the  most  vio- 
lent of  the  Leaguers  to  act  in  their  behalf ;  by  reason 
of  which  the  people  of  Paris  afterwards  called  the 
principal  of  this  party  the  "  Sixteen,"  —  not  that  they 
were  but  sixteen,  for  their  number  exceeded  ten  thou- 
sand, but  all  were  dispersed  through  the  sixteen 
quarters. 

Now  the  King,  principally  incited  by  the  Due 
d'Epernon,  resolved  to  punish  the  most  forward  of 
this  Sixteen,  who  on  all  occasions  showed  themselves 
furious  enemies  of  that  favourite.  By  this  means  he 
thought  to  overthrow  the  League  and  absolutely  ruin 
the  credit  and  reputation  of  the  Due  de  Guise.  He 
caused,  therefore,  some  troops  secretly  to  enter  Paris, 
and  gave  them  orders  to  seize  on  those  persons. 

The  Due  de  Guise,  being  advised  of  it,  posted  from 
Soissons,  where  he  then  was,  resolving  to  perish  rather 


92  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

than  lose  his  friends.  Barricades  were  raised,  in  the 
month  of  May,^  even  to  the  gates  of  the  Louvre,  and 
the  King's  troops  were  all  cut  to  pieces  or  disarmed, 
The  Queen-mother,  according  to  her  ordinary  custom, 
acted  as  mediator ;  but  the  King,  affrighted,  and  fear- 
ing to  be  put  in  durance,  retired  to  Chartres  (May 
13th). 

The  League,  by  this  becoming  master  of  Paris, 
took  possession  of  the  Bastille,  the  Hotel  de  Yille,  and 
the  Temple,  and  hanged  the  provost  of  the  merchants 
and  the  city  lieutenant.  And  at  the  same  time  they 
possessed  themselves  of  Orleans,  Bruges,  Amiens, 
Abbeville,  Montreuil,  Rouen,  B,heims,  Chalons,  and 
more  than  twenty  other  cities  in  several  provinces, 
the  people  everywhere  crying,  "  Long  live  De  Guise  !  " 
"  Long  live  the  Protector  of  the  Faith  ! " 

The  King,  not  without  much  reason,  was  extremely 
alarmed.  The  Parisians  sent  to  him  to  Chartres  to  ask 
pardon,  but  withal  they  demanded  the  extirpation  of 
heresy.  All  his  friends  increased  his  fears,  none  for- 
tified his  courage.  In  this  distress  he  knew  no  se- 
curer way  to  shun  that  danger  which  threatened  him 
than  by  essaying  to  disarm  his  subjects.  To  this  end 
he  sent  one  of  his  masters  of  the  requests  to  the  Par- 
liament, to  let  them  understand  that  his  absolute  in- 
tention was  to  forget  all  that  was  past,  so  that  every 
one  might  return  to  his  duty,  and  labour  diligently 

1  The  12th  of  May  was  called  the  "  Day  of  Barricades." 


HENRI  rv.  93 

for  the  reformation  of  the  kingdom  ;  to  further  which 
he  found  it  convenient  to  assemble  the  States  General 
at  the  end  of  the  year,  where  they  might  provide  for 
the  assuring  a  Catholic  successor  of  the  blood  royal, 
protesting  that  he  would  observe  inviolably  all  the  res- 
olutions of  the  Estates,  but  that  he  would  have  them 
free  and  without  faction,  and  that  from  that  day  all 
his  subjects  should  lay  down  arms. 

It  much  troubled  the  Due  de  Guise  to  consent  to 
laying  down  arms,  fearing  lest  when  he  was  left 
defenceless  he  should  remain  at  the  mercy  of  his 
enemies,  and  particularly  of  the  Due  d'Epernon.  He 
therefore  stirred  up  the  Parisians  by  a  famous  deputa- 
tion to  demand  the  continuation  of  the  war  against 
the  Huguenots  and  the  expulsion  of  that  Duke.  The 
King,  after  some  resistance,  granted  both  the  one  and 
the  other ;  for  he  caused  to  be  ratified  in  Parliament 
an  edict  most  advantageously  favourable  for  the 
League,  and  most  bloody  against  the  Huguenots,  and 
he  bade  adieu  to  the  Due  d'l^pernon,  who  retired  into 
his  government  of  Angoumois. 

After  this  the  Due  de  Guise  came  to  attend  the 
King  at  Chartres,  having  the  Queen-mother's  word  for 
his  security,  and  both  gave  great  assurances  of  his 
fidelity  and  received  all  the  testimonies  he  could  vrish 
of  the  affection  of  the  King,  who  made  him  head  of  the 
gens  d'armes  of  France. 

In  the  meantime  the  League  gained  the  upper  hand 


94  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

throughout  all  the  provinces  on  this  side  of  the  Loire, 
and  caused  deputies  for  the  Estates  to  be  elected  at  its 
pleasure.  In  the  month  of  November  the  Estates  as- 
sembled in  the  city  of  Blois.  It  is  not  necessary  here 
to  recount  all  their  intrigues.  Finally  the  King,  per- 
suaded that  they  had  conspired  to  dethrone  him, 
caused  the  Due  de  Guise  and  the  Cardinal,  his  brother, 
to  be  slain  in  the  castle,^  and  kept  prisoner  the  Car- 
dinal de  Bourbon,  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons,  the  Prince 
de  Joinville,  who,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  was 
called  Due  de  Guise,  and  the  Due  de  Nemours,  brother 
by  his  mother  to  the  first  Duke. 

The  Queen-mother,  under  whose  pledge  the  Guises 
thought  themselves  in  security,  was  so  touched  with 
the  reproaches  made  her,  and  with  the  slightings  of 
the  King,  her  son,  who  after  this  believed  he  had  no 
more  need  of  her,  that  she  died  with  grief  and  vexa- 
tion a  few  days  after  (January  5,  1589),  lamented  by 
no  person,  not  even  by  her  son,  and  generally  hated 
by  aU  parties. 

In  truth,  if  ever  there  was  an  action  ambiguous  or 
problematical,  it  was  that  of  these  murders.  The  ser- 
vants of  the  King  said  that  he  was  constrained  to  it 
by  the  extreme  audacity  of  the  Guises,  and  that,  if  he 
had  not  prevented  them,  they  would  have  shaved  him 
and  shut  him  up  in  a  monastery.  But  the  ill  repute  in 
which  he  was  held  among  all  men,  the  general  esteem 

1  The  Duke  on  the  23d  and  his  brother  on  the  24th  of  December. 


HENRI  IV.  96 

these  Princes  had  acquired,  and  the  odious  circum- 
stances of  the  murder,  made  it  appear  horrible  even 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Huguenots,  who  said  that  this  much 
resembled  the  bloody  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 

Our  Henri  observed  a  wise  neutrality  in  this  emer- 
gency. He  deplored  their  death,  and  praised  their 
valour :  but  he  said  that  certainly  the  King  had  very 
weighty  motives  to  treat  them  in  that  manner,  and 
for  the  rest,  that  the  judgments  of  God  were  great, 
and  his  grace  threefold  towards  him,  having  avenged 
him  of  his  enemies,  and  neither  engaged  his  con- 
science nor  his  hand  in  it.  For  certain  gentlemen 
having  often  offered  themselves  to  him  with  a  deter- 
mined resolution  to  go  and  kill  the  Due  de  Guise,  he 
had  always  let  them  know  that  he  abhorred  such  a 
proposition,  and  that  he  should  esteem  them  neither 
his  friends  nor  honest  men  if  they  harboured  it  in 
their  thoughts. 

His  council,  being  assembled  upon  the  receipt  of 
this  grave  news,  found  that  he  ought  not  on  this 
account  to  make  any  change  in  the  conduct  of  his 
affairs,  because  the  King,  though  he  himself  might  be 
willing  to  do  so,  dared  not  for  some  months  speak  of 
a  peace,  for  fear  he  should  make  it  be  believed  that  he 
had  slain  the  Guises  to  favom*  the  Huguenots ;  so  that 
he  continued  the  war  and  held  several  places. 

In  the  meantime  the  progress  of  affairs  opened  out 
before  him  a  pathway  that  led  to  the  heart  of  the 


96  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

kingdom  and  to  the   Court,  which  was  the  post  he 
ought  most  to  covet. 

While  Henri  III.  was  amusing  himself  after  the 
murder  of  the  Guises  in  examining  the  acts  of  the  Es- 
tates at  Blois,  instead  of  mounting  his  horse  and  show- 
ing himself  in  those  places  where  his  presence  was 
most  necessary,  the  League,  which  at  first  had  been 
astonished  at  so  great  a  blow,  regained  its  spirits. 
The  great  cities,  and  principally  Paris,  which  were 
possessed  with  this  madness,  having  had  leisure  to 
dissipate  their  amazement,  passed  from  fear  to  pity, 
and  from  pity  to  fury.  The  Sixteen  chose  at  Paris 
the  Due  d'Aumale  for  their  governor.  The  preachers 
and  churchmen  declaimed  bitterly  against  the  King ; 
the  people  pulled  down  his  arms  wherever  they  found 
them  and  dragged  them  through  the  dirt.  The  Par- 
liament, who  would  have  restrained  these  hostile  dem- 
onstrations, were  imprisoned  in  the  Bastille  by  Bussy 
le  Clerc,  a  simple  protector,  but  very  much  esteemed 
among  the  Sixteen,  and  were  forced,  in  order  to  re- 
gain their  liberty,  to  swear  to  the  League.  When 
released  from  the  Bastille,  there  were  many  who  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  Parliament  at  Paris ;  the  others 
stole  away,  little  by  little,  and  went  over  to  the  King, 
who  transferred  the  Parliament  to  Tours,  where  they 
kept  their  session  until  the  reduction  of  Paris,  in  the 
year  1594.  These,  without  doubt,  testified  most  fidel- 
ity to  their  King ;  but  those  who  remained  at  Paris 


HENRI   IV.  97 

rendered  him  afterwards  much  greater  service,  as 
shall  be  observed  in  its  place. 

The  widow  of  the  Due  de  Guise  presented  her 
request  to  these  to  take  information  regarding  the 
death  of  her  husband,  and  demanded  of  the  commis- 
sioners that  action  might  be  taken  against  those  who 
should  be  found  convicted  of  it.  She  received  favour- 
able assurances  from  the  procurator-general,  and  they 
proceeded  very  far  on  this  subject,  even  against  the 
person  of  Henri  III. ;  but  I  cannot  say  to  what  point, 
because  the  papers  were  taken  from  the  registers  of 
Parliament  when  Henri  the  Great  reentered  Paris. 

We  cannot  sufficiently  detest  such  revolts  against 
a  sovereign ;  but  these  examples  ought  to  make  him 
know  that,  though  he  holds  his  power  from  on  high, 
yet  obedience  depends  on  the  caprice  of  the  people, 
and  that  he  ought  so  to  carry  himself  as  not  to  attract 
their  hatred ;  otherwise,  since  men  have  the  audacity 
to  blaspheme  God,  why  may  they  not  have  it  to  revolt 
against  kings  ? 

Whilst  these  things  were  progressing,  Henri  III. 
understood  that  Pope  Sixtus  V.  had  excommunicated 
him  for  the  murder  of  Cardinal  de  Guise.  This  great 
fire  in  a  little  time  set  France  in  a  blaze.  The  Duo 
de  Mayenne,  who  was  at  Lyons  making  war  against 
the  Huguenots,  being  informed  by  a  courier  from 
Roissieu,  his  secretary  (who  prevented  the  King's 
departure  from  that  city),  came  into  his  own  govern- 


98  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

ment  of  Burgundy,  assured  himself  of  Dijon  and  of 
Provence,  and  thence  passed  into  Champagne,  where 
the  people  received  him  with  open  arms ;  afterwards  to 
Orleans,  which  had  already  revolted,  and  to  Chartres, 
which  his  presence  stirred  into  action ;  and  in  the 
end  he  came  to  Paris.  The  Sixteen  and  many  of  his 
friends  advised  him  to  take  the  title  of  King,  which 
would  be  given  him  by  the  council  which  the  League 
had  established ;  but  he  refused,  contenting  himself 
with  the  title  of  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Estate  and 
Crown  of  France,  which  he  took,  as  if  the  throne  had 
been  vacant.  They  likewise  broke  the  seals  of  the 
King,  and  made  others,  whereon  was  engraven  on  one 
side  the  arms  of  France,  and  on  the  other  an  empty 
throne,  and  for  inscription  about  it  the  name  and 
quality  of  the  Due  de  Mayenne  in  this  manner : 
*'  Charles,  Duo  de  Mayenne,  Lieutenant  of  the  Estate 
and  Crown  of  France." 

All  France  took  part  in  this  occurrence,  and  almost 
all  the  cities  and  provinces  of  the  realm  ranged  them- 
selves on  the  Due  de  Mayenne's  side.  The  King, 
fearful  that  he  should  be  shut  up  in  Blois,  retired  to 
Tours.  There  now  remained  only  one  way  for  him 
to  defend  himself  against  the  many  dangers  that  were 
ready  to  environ  him,  and  this  was  to  call  to  his 
assistance  the  King  of  Navarre,  who  had  five  or  six 
thousand  men,  old  soldiers,  by  whom  he  was  well 
beloved.     Yet  he  durst  not  do  it,  for  fear  of  being 


HENRI   IV.  99 

deemed  a  favourer  of  heretics,  or  of  incurring  the 
blame  of  violating  those  edicts  against  the  Huguenots 
he  had  so  solemnly  sworn  to  in  the  Estates  of  Blois. 
He  tried,  therefore,  all  sorts  of  ways  to  appease  the 
resentment  of  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  offering  him  very 
advantageous  conditions.  "  But  what  assurance," 
said  the  Leaguers,  "  can  this  Duke  have,  his  brothers 
being  murdered  in  so  perfidious  a  manner  ? "  He 
therefore  would  not  listen  to  any  of  the  King's  pro- 
posals, and  Henri  IH.  was  constrained  to  turn  his 
thoughts  towards  the  King  of  Navarre. 

This  Prince  above  all  things  desired  a  passage  over 
the  river  Loire.  The  city  of  Saumur  was  given  to 
him,  where  he  established,  as  governor,  Du  Plessis 
Mornay,  who  fortified  the  castle  and  made  it  the  head 
of  the  Huguenot  garrisons.  Having  afterwards  thence 
approached  Tours,  his  old  captains,  through  distrust 
of  Henri  HI.,  hindered  him  from  going  to  see  that 
King,  whom  they  feared,  they  said,  lest,  in  a  time 
when  treachery  was  so  necessary  to  draw  him  out  of 
that  labyrinth  wherein  the  action  of  Blois  had  involved 
him,  he  should  buy  his  absolution  at  the  price  of  the 
King  of  Navarre's  life. 

The  Due  d'Epernan,  who  had  returned  to  Court  to 
serve  his  master  in  his  need,  and  the  Mar^chal  d'Au- 
mont  would  have  engaged  him  to  it,  and  given  him 
their  word  of  honour  ;  but  his  friends  could  not  con- 
sent that  he  should  expose  himself  to  the  faith  of  a 


100  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Prince,  who,  as  they  believed,  had  not  any.  In  truth 
their  fears  were  just,  and  our  Henri  was  without  doubt 
possessed  with  them  as  well  as  they.  However,  after 
he  had  well  considered  that  he  acted  now  for  the 
safety  of  France,  for  the  service  of  the  King,  and  to 
open  to  himself  a  way  to  defend  that  crown  which 
appertained  to  him,  he  resolved  to  hazard  all,  and  to 
resign  himself  absolutely  to  the  holy  guard  of  the 
Sovereign  Protector  of  kings. 

The  city  of  Tours  is  situated,  as  it  were,  on  an 
island,  a  little  below  the  place  where  the  river  Cher 
mingles  its  stream  with  the  Loire,  having  coasted  that 
great  river  three  or  four  leagues.  The  King  of  Na- 
varre's people  wished  not  that  he  should  trust  himself 
between  these  rivers,  but  that  the  conference  should 
be  held  beyond  the  Cher.  He  almost  alone  was  of  an 
opinion  contrary  to  them  all ;  nevertheless,  to  content 
them,  he  was  constrained  to  hold  a  council  on  the 
banks,  and  afterwards  to  permit  his  captains  to  pass 
first,  as  if  to  sound  the  ford.  He  passed  after  them, 
and  arrived  at  Plessis  les  Tours  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  in  a  warlike  habit,  all  dirty  and  worn 
by  his  cuirass,  himself  only  having  a  cloak,  all  his 
people  being  in  their  doublets,  and  ready  to  take  up 
their  arms,  that  he  might  show  the  King  he  was  not 
come  to  make  his  court  to  him,  but  to  serve  him  well. 

He  went  to  meet  the  King,  who  heard  vespers  at 
the  Minimes.     The  crowd  of  people  was  so  great  that 


HENRI   IV.  101 

they  were  a  long  time  before  they  could  join.  Our 
Henri,  being  within  three  paces  of  the  King,  threw 
himself  at  his  feet,  endeavouring  to  kiss  them ;  but  the 
King  would  not  permit  him,  but,  lifting  him  up,  em- 
braced him  with  great  tenderness.  They  repeated 
their  embraces  three  or  four  times,  the  King  calling 
him  his  thrice-dear  brother,  and  he  calling  him  his 
lord.  There  were  now  heard  to  echo  the  joyful  cries  of 
"  Vive  le  Roi  !  "  which  had  for  a  long  time  been  silent, 
as  if  the  presence  of  our  Henri  had  given  a  new  birth 
to  the  people's  affections,  which  seemed  to  be  extinct 
in  regard  to  Henri  III. 

After  the  two  Kings  had  for  some  time  entertained 
each  other,  our  Henri  crossed  the  river  and  went  to 
lodge  at  the  suburb  of  St.  Symphorien ;  for  he  had 
been  obliged  to  promise  this  much  to  the  old  Hugue- 
nots, who  believed  snares  and  traps  were  everywhere 
laid  for  him.  But  he,  who  was  urged  forward  by 
other  motives,  and  who  was  endowed  with  that  gener- 
ous principle,  "  that  we  ought  not  to  be  too  sparing  of 
our  lives  when  there  is  something  to  be  gained  which 
ought  to  be  more  precious  than  life  itself  to  one  of 
great  courage,"  departed  at  six  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing, without  consulting  his  people  ;  and,  attended  only 
by  one  page,  crossed  the  bridge  and  went  to  pay  a 
visit  to  the  King.  They  entertained  one  another  a 
long  time  in  two  or  three  conferences,  in  which  our 
Henri  displayed  great  capacity  and  judgment.    Finally 


102  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

they  resolved  to  raise  a  powerful  army  to  assault 
Paris,  which  was  the  principal  head  of  the  hydra,  and 
gave  motion  to  all  the  rest,  —  a  thing  easy  for  them 
to  do,  because  the  King  expected  great  levies  from 
Switzerland,  whither  he  had  sent  Sancy  for  that  pur- 
pose, adding  that  the  design  of  the  siege  being 
published,  it  would  infallibly  attract  a  great  number 
of  soldiers  and  adventurers,  in  the  hope  of  a  rich 
pillage. 

The  two  Kings  having  passed  two  days  together,  he 
of  Navarre  went  to  Chinon  to  cause  the  rest  of  his 
troops  to  advance,  who  hitherto  had  refused  to  mingle 
themselves  among  the  Catholics. 

During  his  absence,  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  who  had 
taken  the  field,  fell  upon  the  suburbs  of  Tours,  think- 
ing to  surprise  the  city  and  the  King  within  it,  ac- 
cording to  some  intelligence  he  had  received.  The 
combat  was  very  bloody,  and  the  Duke's  design  was 
nearly  successful,  but  after  the  first  endeavours  he 
lost  all  hope  and  retired  from  the  contest. 

Afterwards,  the  King's  troops  being  wonderfully 
increased,  they  marched  conjointly,  he  and  the  King 
of  Navarre,  towards  Orleans,  took  all  the  little  places 
thereabouts,  and  thence  descended  into  Beauce,  and 
drew  together  all  of  a  sudden  towards  Paris.  All  the 
posts  round  about  it,  as  Poissy,  Estampes,  and  Meu- 
lan,  were  either  forced  or  obtained  capitulation,  "  in 
which  they  desired  no  other  security  than  the  word 


HENRI  IV.  103 

of  the  King  of  Navarre,  to  which  they  trusted  more 
than  to  all  the  writings  of  Henri  III.,  so  great  a  pro- 
fession made  he  of  keeping  his  word,  even  to  the 
prejudice  of  his  interests." 

Let  us  consider  a  little  the  different  state  to  which 
these  two  Kings  were  reduced  bj  their  different  con- 
duct. The  one,  for  having  often  broken  his  faith,  was 
abandoned  by  his  subjects,  and  his  greatest  oaths 
found  no  belief  amongst  them ;  and  the  other,  for 
having  always  exactly  kept  it,  was  followed  even  by 
his  greatest  enemies.  On  all  occasions  he  gave  marks 
of  his  valour  and  experience  in  point  of  war,  but  above 
all  of  his  prudence  and  of  those  noble  inclinations  he 
had  to  do  good  and  to  succour  all.  He  was  always 
seen  in  the  most  dangerous  places,  to  accelerate 
labours,  animate  his  soldiers,  sustain  them  in  sallies, 
comfort  the  wounded,  and  cause  money  to  be  dis- 
tributed amongst  them.  He  observed  all,  inquired 
into  all,  and  would  himself,  with  the  marshal  of  the 
camp,  order  the  lodgings  of  his  soldiers.  He  observed 
strictly  what  was  done  in  the  army  of  Henri  III., 
where,  though  he  often  found  faults,  he  concealed 
them,  out  of  fear  of  offending  those  who  had  com- 
mitted them  by  discovering  their  ignorance ;  and 
when  he  believed  himself  obliged  to  take  notice  of 
them,  he  did  it  with  so  much  circumspection  that  they 
could  not  find  any  reason  to  take  it  in  ill  part.  He 
was  never  niggardly  of  giving  praises  due  to  noble 


104  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

actions,  nor  of  caresses  and  generous  deportment  to 
those  who  came  near  him ;  he  entertained  himself 
with  them  when  he  had  time  to  do  it,  or  at  least 
pleased  them  with  some  good  word,  so  that  they  still 
went  away  satisfied.  He  feared  not  at  all  to  make 
himself  familiar,  because  he  was  assured  that  the 
more  men  knew  him  the  more  they  would  esteem 
him.  In  fine,  the  conduct  of  this  Prince  was  such 
that  there  was  no  heart  he  gained  not,  nor  any  friend 
who  would  not  willingly  have  become  his  martyr. 

Paris  was  already  besieged.  The  King  lodged  at 
St.  Cloud  and  our  Henri  at  Meudon,  keeping  with 
his  troops  all  that  lies  between  Vanvres  and  the 
bridge  of  Charenton.  Sancy  had  already  arrived  with 
his  levies  of  Swiss  ;  and  they  laboured  with  orders  to 
give  a  general  assault,  that  they  might  gain  the  suburbs 
beyond  the  river.  The  Due  de  Mayenne,  who  was  in 
the  city  with  his  troops,  expecting  those  supplies  the 
Due  de  Nemours  was  to  bring,  was  in  great  apprehen- 
sion that  he  should  not  be  able  to  sustain  the  furious 
shock  that  was  preparing,  when  a  young  Jacobin  of 
the  convent  of  Paris,  named  Jacques  Clement,  spurred 
on  by  a  resolution  as  devilish  and  detestable  as  it  was 
determined,  smote  King  Henri  III.  in  the  stomach 
with  a  knife,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died  on  the 
morrow.  If  the  frantic  monk  had  not  been  slain 
upon  the  spot  by  the  King's  guards,  many  things 
might  have  been  known  which  are  now  concealed. 


HENRI  IV.  105 

Our  Henri,  being  informed,  late  in  the  evening,  of 
this  mournful  accident  and  of  the  danger  in  which 
the  King  was,  went  to  his  lodging,  accompanied  only 
by  twenty-five  or  thirty  gentlemen ;  and,  arriving  a 
little  before  the  King  expired,  he  fell  on  his  knees  to 
kiss  his  hands  and  receive  his  last  embraces.  The 
King  called  him  many  times  his  good  brother  and 
legitimate  successor,  recommended  the  kingdom  to 
him,  and  exhorted  the  lords  there  present  to  acknowl- 
edge him  and  not  to  disunite.  Finally,  after  conjur- 
ing him  to  embrace  the  Catholic  religion,  he  gave  up 
the  ghost,  leaving  his  army  in  an  astonishment  and  a 
confusion  beyond  expression,  and  all  the  chiefs  and 
captains  irresolute  and  agitated,  according  to  their 
humours,  fancies,  or  interests. 


PART  II. 

Containing  the  actions  of  Henri  the  Great,  from  the  day  he 
came  to  the  throne  of  France  until  the  Peace,  which  was 
made  in  the  year  1598,  by  the  Treaty  of  Vervins. 

The  death  of  Henri  III.  caused  an  entire  change 
in  the  aspect  of  affairs.  Paris,  the  League,  and  the 
Due  de  Mayenne  were  transported  from  a  profound 
sadness  to  a  furious  joy,  and  the  servants  of  the  de- 
ceased King,  from  a  fervent  hope  to  see  him  avenged, 
to  an  extreme  desolation. 

This  Prince,  who  had  been  the  object  of  the  people's 
hatred,  being  now  no  more,  it  seemed  that  that  hatred 
would  cease,  and  by  consequence  the  fury  of  the  League 
relent.  But,  on  the  contrary,  not  only  all  those  who 
composed  that  faction,  but  likewise  many  others  who 
had  held  it  a  crime  to  league  themselves  against  Henri 
HI.,  their  Catholic  and  legitimate  King,  believed 
themselves  in  conscience  obliged  to  oppose  them- 
selves against  our  Henri,  at  least  till  such  time  as 
he  should  return  into  the  bosom  of  the  true  Church, 
a  qualification  they  believed  absolutely  necessary  for 
the  successor  of  Charlemagne  or  Saint  Louis.  So 
that  if  the  League  lost  that  heart  which  hatred  gave 

106 


HENKI  IV.  107 

it,  it  gained  one  much  more  specious,  from  a  zeal  for 
religion,  and  had  likewise  a  most  plausible  pretext  not 
to  lay  down  arms  till  Henri  should  profess  the  religion 
of  his  ancestors. 

It  was  very  difficult  to  judge  whether  the  time  at 
which  the  death  of  Henri  HI.  happened  were  good 
or  ill  for  our  Henri ;  for  on  one  side  it  seemed  that 
Providence  had  drawn  him  from  the  utmost  parts  of 
the  kingdom,  where  he  was  hke  a  banished  man,  and 
led  him  by  the  hand  to  the  fairest  portion  of  France, 
only  to  make  known  his  goodness  and  vh'tue,  and  put 
him  in  a  position  to  gain  that  succession  to  which,  had 
he  been  absent,  he  would  never  have  been  called  ;  but 
on  the  other  side,  when  the  multitude  of  his  powerful 
enemies  which  armed  themselves  against  him  are  con- 
sidered, the  small  treasure  and  few  forces  he  had,  the 
obstacle  of  his  religion,  and  a  thousand  other  diffi- 
culties, it  could  not  be  certainly  judged  whether  the 
crown  was  ordained  for  him  to  enjoy  or  to  fall  upon 
his  head  and  crush  him  to  pieces;  and  there  might 
be  reason  to  say  that  if  the  course  of  events  elevated 
him,  it  was  upon  a  throne  trembling  on  the  brink  of 
a  precipice. 

Whilst  Henri  III.  was  in  his  agony,  our  Henri  had 
held  many  tumultuous  councils  in  the  same  lodgings 
with  those  whom  he  esteemed  his  most  faitbful  ser- 
vants. As  soon  as  he  understood  the  King  was  dead, 
he   retired    to   his  quarters    at    Meudon   and   attired 


108  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

himself  in  the  mourning  purple.  He  was  presently 
followed  by  a  large  number  of  noblemen,  who  accom- 
panied him  as  much  for  curiosity  as  affection.  The 
Huguenots  with  those  troops  which  he  had  led  pres- 
ently swore  allegiance  to  him,  but  this  number  was 
very  small.  Some  of  the  Catholics,  as  the  Marechal 
d'Aumont,  Givry,-  and  D'Humieres,  swore  service  to 
him  until  death,  and  that  willingly,  without  desiring 
any  conditions  from  him ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the 
others,  being  either  estranged  by  inclination  or  exas- 
perated by  some  discontent,  or  else  believing  now 
to  have  found  the  time  to  sell  their  services,  kept  at 
a  great  distance,  and  held  several  little  assemblies  in 
divers  places,  where  they  formed  a  number  of  fantastic 
designs. 

Each  of  these  proposed  to  make  himself  sovereign 
of  some  city  or  some  province,  as  the  governors  had 
done  in  the  decadence  of  the  House  of  Charlemagne. 
The  Marechal  de  Biron,  among  others,  would  have 
had  the  county  of  P^rigord,  and  Sancy  asked  the 
King  not  to  refuse  him.  This  proposition  was  very 
dangerous,  for  if  he  denied  it  he  incensed  him,  and 
if  he  accorded  his  demand  he  opened  the  way  to  all 
others  to  make  the  like,  and  so  the  kingdom  would 
be  rent  in  pieces.  It  was  only  by  his  great  wisdom 
and  understanding  that  he  could  walk  safely  in  so 
dangerous  a  path.  He  therefore  charged  Sancy  to 
assure  the   Marshal   on  his  part  of  his  affection,  of 


HENRI   IV.  109 

which  he  would  willingly  in  proper  time  and  place 
give  him  all  the  marks  a  good  subject  could  expect 
from  his  sovereign ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  fur- 
nished him  with  so  many  powerful  reasons  where- 
fore he  could  not  accord  what  he  desired,  that  Sancy, 
being  himself  first  persuaded,  found  it  not  difficult  to 
work  the  same  effect  on  the  spirit  of  Biron,  whom  he 
persuaded  not  only  to  renounce  that  pretension,  but 
likewise  to  protest  that  he  would  never  suffer  any 
part  of  the  realm  to  be  dismembered,  in  favour  of 
any  person  whomsoever. 

We  may  without  doubt  conclude  that  the  great 
Henri  did  reason  acutely,  and  that  he  explained  his 
reasons  in  the  best  manner,  since  he  could  on  occa- 
sions so  important  persuade  such  able  men  against 
their  own  interests. 

Biron,  being  thus  gained,  went  with  Sancy  to 
assure  themselves  of  those  Swiss  which  Sancy  had 
brought  to  the  deceased  King,  but  who,  being  of  the 
Catholic  cantons,  made  some  difficulty  to  bear  arms 
for  a  Huguenot  prince,  and  that  without  a  new  order 
from  their  superior.  As  for  the  French  troops  of 
the  deceased  King,  it  was  not  so  easy  to  gain  them. 
The  nobles  who  commanded  them,  or  who  had  their 
chiefs  under  them,  all  had  divers  designs ;  one  would 
have  one  thing  and  others  other  things,  according  to 
their  several  interests  or  caprices. 

There  were  five  Princes  of  the  House  of  Bourbon : 


110  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

the  old  Cardinal  de  VendSme,  the  Comte  de  Soissons, 
the  Prince  de  Conti,  the  Due  de  Montpensier,  and  the 
Prince  de  Dombes,  his  son,  who,  instead  of  being  his 
firmest  prop,  gave  him  no  little  inquietude ;  because 
there  was  none  of  them  who  had  not  his  particular 
pretension,  which  proved  to  him  a  continual  obstacle. 

Many  of  the  nobles  who  were  in  the  army  were  not 
very  well  intentioned,  particularly  Henri,  grand  prior 
of  France,  natural  son  to  Charles  IX.  (afterwards 
Comte  d'Auvergne  and  Due  d'Angouleme),  the  Due 
d'Epernon,  and  Termes  Bellegarde,  who  out  of  the 
fear  they  formerly  had  lest  he  should  deprive  them 
of  the  favour  of  their  master,  had  opposed  him  on 
divers  occasions.  For  the  courtiers,  as  Frangois  d'O 
and  Manou,  his  brother,  Yieuxchatel,  and  many  others, 
they,  knowing  that  our  Henri  detested  their  villainous 
debaucheries,  and  that  he  would  not  prove  a  person 
of  so  ill  management  as  to  lavish  his  revenues  to 
supply  their  luxury,  had  no  great  inclination  for  him. 
Nevertheless,  hoping  to  find  things  better,  they  re- 
solved to  declare  in  his  favour  ;  but  with  such  con- 
ditions as  should  restrain  and  bridle  him,  and  in  son^e 
manner  oblige  him  to  depend  on  them. 

For  this  purpose  there  met  an  assembly  of  some 
noblemen  at  the  palace  of  D'O  (a  man  voluptuous, 
prodigal,  and  therefore  not  very  scrupulous,  but  who 
at  present  made  conscience  a  cloak  to  render  himself 
necessary),  and  there  resolved  not  to   acknowledge 


HENRI   IV.  Ill 

the  King  till  he  should  become  a  Catholic.  Fran9oi8 
d'O,  accompanied  by  some  noblemen,  had  the  assm'- 
ance  to  carry  to  him  the  resolutions  of  this  assembly, 
and  added  a  studied  discourse  to  persuade  him  to 
return  to  the  Catholic  religion ;  but  the  King,  who 
had  already  passed  over  his  greatest  fears,  made  them 
an  answer  so  mixed  with  sweetness  and  gravity,  with 
spirit  and  reservedness,  that,  courageously  repelling 
them  without  too  severely  tamiting  them,  he  testified 
to  them  that  he  desired  to  attach  them  to  him,  but 
that  after  all  he  feared  not  much  the  loss  of  them. 

Some  time  after,  the  nobility,  after  divers  little 
assemblies,  held  a  great  one  with  Francois  de  Luxem- 
bourg, Due  de  Piney.  There  many  propositions  being 
made,  at  last  the  Due  de  Montpensier  and  the  Due  de 
Piney  subtly  managed  and  steered  the  opinions  of  the 
most  importunate  to  this  resolution  :  that  they  would 
acknowledge  Henri  for  King,  upon  these  conditions : 
1.  Provided  that  he  would  cause  himself  to  be  in- 
structed; for  they  presupposed  that  conversion  must 
necessarily  follow  instruction.  2.  That  he  should  not 
permit  the  exercise  of  any  but  the  Catholic  religion. 
3.  That  he  should  neither  give  charge  nor  employ- 
ment to  the  Huguenots.  4.  That  he  should  permit 
the  assembly  to  depute  agents  to  the  Pope,  to  let  him 
understand  and  agree  to  the  causes  which  obliged  the 
nobility  to  remain  in  the  service  of  a  Prince  separated 
from  the  Roman  Church. 


112  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

The  King  had  the  knowledge  of  this  resolution 
from  the  Due  de  Piney.  He  thanked  them  for  their 
zeal  for  the  preservation  of  the  State  and  the  affec- 
tion they  had  for  his  person,  promising  them  that  he 
would  sooner  lose  his  life  than  the  remembrance  of 
those  good  services  they  had  rendered  him,  and  read- 
ily granted  them  all  the  points  they  demanded  except 
the  second,  instead  of  which  he  promised  them  to 
reestablish  the  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion 
through  all  his  territories,  and  to  readmit  the  eccle- 
siastics into  the  possession  of  their  estates;  and  of 
this  he  caused  a  declaration  to  be  engrossed,  which, 
after  all  the  lords  and  gentlemen  of  note  had  signed 
it,  he  sent  to  be  confirmed  by  that  part  of  the  Parlia- 
ment which  was  at  Tours. 

There  were  many  who  signed  it  with  some  regret, 
and  others  who  absolutely  refused  it,  among  whom 
were  the  Due  d'Bpernon  and  Louis  d'HSpital  Vitry. 
This  last,  disturbed,  as  it  was  said,  by  a  scruple  of 
conscience,  cast  himself  into  Paris  and  gave  himself 
for  some  time  to  the  League ;  but  first  of  all  he  aban- 
doned the  government  of  Dourdan,  which  the  late 
King  had  given  him.  Such  then  were  the  maxims 
of  persons  of  true  honour  in  the  civil  wars,  that  in 
quitting  one  party,  whichever  it  was,  they  quitted 
likewise  those  places  they  held,  and  returned  them 
to  those  who  had  conferred  them. 

The  Due  d';^pernon,  protesting  that  he  would  never 


HENRI   IV.  113 

be  either  Spaniard  or  Leaguer,  and  that  his  conscience 
would  not  permit  him  to  stay  with  the  King,  demanded 
leave  of  him  to  retire  to  his  government.  The  King, 
after  having  in  vain  endeavom'ed  to  retain  him,  gave 
him  leave,  with  many  caresses  and  praises ;  but  so 
much  was  he  in  his  heart  troubled  at  his  abandoning 
him,  that  it  has  been  believed  he  cherished  against 
him  a  secret  resentment  as  long  as  he  lived. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  was  not  a  little  troubled  in 
Paris  what  resolution  he  should  take.  He  saw  that 
all  the  Parisians,  even  those  who  had  held  to  the 
party  of  the  late  King,  had  fully  resolved  to  provide 
for  the  security  of  religion ;  but  that,  however,  they 
would  all  have  a  king,  contrary  to  some  of  the  Six- 
teen, who  imagined  they  might  form  a  republic,  and 
turn  France  into  cantons,  like  to  those  of  the  Swiss ; 
but  those  were  not  sufficiently  powerful  either  in 
number,  riches,  or  capacity  to  conduct  such  a  design. 
So  that  most  of  his  friends  counselled  him  to  take  the 
title  of  King ;  but  when  he  went  about  to  sound  this 
proposition,  he  found  that  it  was  agreeable  neither  to 
the  people  nor  yet  to  the  King  of  Spain,  from  whom 
he  received,  and  was  to  receive,  his  principal  support 
and  means  of  subsistence. 

Hereupon  two  other  counsels  were  given  him :  the 
first,  to  accord  willingly  with  the  new  King,  who  with- 
out doubt,  in  the  position  things  were,  would  grant 
him   most  advantageous  conditions;  the  other,  that 


114  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

he  should  by  declaration  publish  to  the  Catholics  of 
the  royal  army  that  all  resentments  becoming  extincL 
by  the  death  of  Henri  III.,  he  had  no  other  interest 
than  that  of  religion ;  that  that  point  being  of  divine 
obligation  and  concerning  all  good  Christians,  he  smn- 
moned  and  conjured  them  to  join  with  him  to  exhort 
the  King  of  Navarre  to  return  to  the  Church,  upon 
which  they  promised  to  acknowledge  him  immediately 
as  King ;  but  if  he  refused  to  do  it,  they  intended  to 
substitute  in  his  place  another  Prince  of  the  blood. 
This  ad^dce  was  the  best ;  and  indeed  it  was  proposed 
by  Jeannin,  president  of  the  Parliament  of  Burgundy, 
one  of  the  wisest  and  most  politic  heads  of  his  council, 
and  who  acted  in  his  affairs  without  tricks  or  strata- 
gems, but  with  great  judgment  and  singular  honesty. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  rejected  equally  both  these 
advices,  and  took  a  third :  to  cause  the  old  Cardinal 
de  Bourbon  (who  was  at  present  detained  prisoner  by 
order  of  our  Henri)  to  be  proclaimed  King,  still  reserv- 
ing to  himself  the  quahty  of  Lieutenant-General  of 
the  Crown.  He  published  afterwards  several  declara- 
tions, one  of  which  he  sent  to  the  Parliament,  another 
to  the  provinces  and  the  nobility,  inviting  them  to 
endeavour  to  deliver  their  King  and  defend  their 
religion. 

At  the  same  time  the  King  tried  by  divers  negotia- 
tions to  persuade  him,  and  caused  him  to  be  exhorted 
rather  to  seek  his  advancement  by  his  friendship  than 


HENRI   IV.  115 

by  the  troubles  and  miseries  of  France.  But  to  this 
the  Duke  answered  that  he  had  engaged  his  father  in 
the  public  cause,  and  given  oath  to  King  Charles  X. 
(for  so  they  called  the  old  Cardinal  de  Bourbon, 
who  was  named  Charles),  to  whom,  according  to  the 
sentiment  of  the  League,  the  crown  appertained,  as 
to  the  nearest  kinsman  of  Henri  III.  In  the  mean- 
time he  entertained  plots  and  conspiracies  in  the 
royal  army,  where  his  emissaries  from  day  to  day 
debauched  many  persons,  even  of  those  whom  the 
King  believed  most  assured.  There  were  many 
generous  enough  to  resist  the  temptations  of  silver; 
but  nothing  was  proof  against  the  intrigues  of  the 
ladies  of  Paris,  who  cunningly  attracted  the  gentle- 
men and  the  officers  in  the  city,  sparing  nothing  to 
allure  them. 

Knowing  that  daily  there  were  some  caught  in  these 
snares,  and  having  just  reason  to  fear  that  those  who 
returned,  tempted  by  their  mistresses,  might  bring  back 
some  pernicious  designs ;  and  the  Due  de  Nemours 
being  upon  the  advance  with  his  troops  to  join  with 
the  Due  de  Mayenne,  the  Due  de  Lorraine  being  like- 
wise to  send  his ;  and  having  cause  to  apprehend  that 
his  retreat  might  be  cut  off  on  all  sides,  the  King 
found  it  convenient  to  decamp  from  before  Paris. 

But  before  he  departed,  he  wrote  to  the  Protestant 
Princes  to  give  them  an  account  of  what  he  did,  and 
to  assure  them  that  nothing  should  be  capable  of  shak- 


116  HISTORIC   COURT   IMEMOIRS. 

ing  his  constancy,  or  separating  him  from  Christ ;  and 
he  spoke  at  present  according  to  his  thoughts  and 
conscience,  not  having  any  desire  to  change,  which 
yet  the  ministers  of  his  religion  would  not  believe, 
but  watched  him  so  close  on  this  subject  that  they 
became  importunate. 

It  was  certainly  an  unspeakable  trouble  which  for 
three  or  four  years  continually  he  was  forced  to  un- 
dergo, to  hear  on  one  side  the  exhortations  of  those 
people,  and  on  the  other  the  most  constant  remon- 
strances of  the  Catholics ;  for  it  was  necessary  that 
he  should  allay  the  distrust  of  the  first  and  entertain 
the  second  with  continual  hopes  of  himself  receiving 
instruction.  How  much  prudence  had  he  need  of! 
how  much  patience !  with  how  much  judgment  and 
policy  must  he  manage  such  great  differences !  Cer- 
tainly he  could  not  do  it  without  employing  all  the 
powers  of  his  mind  and  experience.  And  he  well 
knew  how  far  it  was  necessary  for  a  prince  to  have 
his  mind  happily  exercised,  and  to  be  well  instructed 
how  to  negotiate  and  speak  well,  and  to  be  able  when 
necessary  to  avail  himself  of  his  talent.  Without 
doubt  he  might  at  present  well  praise  those  who,  hav- 
ing had  the  care  of  bringing  him  up,  had  trained  him 
in  his  youth  to  the  management  of  affairs,  to  dealing 
with  men,  and  to  gaining  their  affections. 

Those  last  duties  he  desired  to  render  his  predeces- 
sor served  as  a  fair  pretext  for  raising  his  siege  before 


HENRI   IV.  117 

Paris.  To  put  the  late  King's  body  in  a  place  where 
the  resentment  of  the  Due  de  Guise's  creatures  might 
not  outrage  it,  he  carried  it  to  Compiegne,  and  laid  it 
in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Corneille,  where  he  celebrated 
aU  the  funeral  ceremonies  as  honourably  as  the  confu- 
sion of  the  time  would  permit.  Not  able  to  assist,  him- 
seK,  because  of  his  religion,  he  committed  the  care  to 
Bellegarde  and  D'Epernon,  the  last  of  whom  accom- 
panied him  thither,  and  then  retired  to  Angoumois. 

There  were  three  advices  given  concerning  the 
place  to  which  he  ought  to  retire  when  he  raised  his 
siege  from  Paris.  The  first  was  to  repass  the  Loire 
and  abandon  to  the  League  all  the  provinces  on  this 
side  of  it,  because  he  could  maintain  them  only  with 
difficulty ;  the  second,  to  readvance  along  the  Marne, 
and,  seizing  the  bridges  and  cities,  await  assistance 
from  the  Protestant  Swiss  and  Germans  who  had 
promised  to  come  to  him ;  and  the  third,  to  march 
down  into  Normandy,  to  assure  himself  of  some  cities 
whose  governors  were  not  yet  engaged  in  the  League, 
to  gather  the  money  received  for  taxes,  and  to  accept 
the  assistance  from  England  which  Queen  Elizabeth 
had  readily  promised  him,  and  which  could  not  be 
long  deferred. 

He  decided  to  adopt  the  last  of  these  advices. 
Many  of  the  nobles  who  accompanied  him  desiring 
some  time  to  go  and  refresh  themselves,  he  gave  them 
leave.     He  sent  a  part  of  his  troops  into  Picardy,  un- 


118  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

der  the  command  of  the  Due  de  Longueville  ;  another 
into  Champagne,  under  Marechal  d'Aumont ;  and 
with  three  thousand  French  foot,  two  regiments  of 
Swiss,  and  twelve  hundred  horse  only,  which  he  kept 
with  him,  he  descended  into  Normandy. 

The  Due  de  Montpensier,  who  was  governor  there, 
came  to  join  him  with  two  hundred  gentlemen  and  fif- 
teen hundred  foot.  R61et,  Governor  of  Pont  d'Arche, 
a  man  of  courage  and  spirit,  brought  him  the  keys  of 
that  place,  demanding  no  other  recompense  but  the 
honour  to  serve  him.  Emer  de  Chattes,  a  commenda- 
tore  of  Malta,  did  the  same  with  those  of  Dieppe. 
After  which  the  King  approached  Rouen,  where  he 
expected  to  have  some  intelligence. 

This  enterprise  put  him  in  extreme  danger,  but  in 
revenge  gave  him  a  fair  occasion  to  acquire  glory  in 
rescuing  himself  from  so  great  a  perU.  See  how  it 
passed. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  came  to  the  succour  of  Rouen 
with  all  his  forces,  and  passed  the  river  at  Yernon. 
The  King,  much  astonislied,  retired  to  Dieppe,  and 
sent  to  the  Due  de  Longueville  and  the  Due  d'Aumont 
to  return  to  him  speedily  with  their  forces.  The  Due 
de  Mayenne  in  the  meantime  seized  all  the  little  places 
about  Dieppe,  so  as  to  completely  invest  the  King.  In 
fact,  he  shut  him  up  so  closely  that,  if  he  had  not 
amused  himself  by  an  untimely  motion  to  go  to  Bins 
in  Hainault  to  confer  with  the  Duke  of  Parma,  he  had 


HENRI   IV.  119 

in  that  disorder  dissipated  the  greater  part  of  the  King's 
little  army.  He  had  already  caused  a  report  to  be 
spread  through  France,  and  had  written  with  assur- 
ance to  all  strange  princes,  that  he  held  the  King  of 
Navarre  (so  he  called  him)  shut  up  in  a  little  corner, 
whence  he  could  not  escape,  except  by  yielding  him- 
self to  him  or  leaping  into  the  sea.  The  danger  ap- 
peared so  imminent,  even  to  his  most  faithful  servants, 
that  the  Parliament  at  Tours  sent  expressly  to  him  a 
master  of  requests,  proposing,  as  the  only  expedient 
they  saw  to  save  the  State,  to  associate  him  and  the 
Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  his  uncle,  in  the  royalty,  giving 
the  conduct  of  civil  affairs  to  the  one,  and  of  military 
affairs  to  the  other.  There  were  likewise  the  greater 
part  of  the  captains  of  his  army  of  opinion  that,  leav- 
ing his  forces  on  shore,  well  entrenched  in  their  posts, 
he  should  as  soon  as  possible  embark  for  England  or 
for  Rochelle,  for  fear  that  if  he  should  longer  delay  it 
he  might  be  shut  up  by  sea  as  well  as  by  land.  To 
the  proposition  of  the  Parliament  he  made  answer 
that  he  had  taken  such  good  measures  that  the  in- 
trigues of  the  Due  de  Mayenne  could  not  deliver  the 
Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  as  they  apprehended ;  and  the 
Mar^chal  de  Biron  so  stoutly  opposed  those  who 
counselled  him  to  embark  that  they  desisted. 

It  appeared  soon  after  that  the  forces  of  the 
League,  which  were  twice  as  great  as  his,  were  not 
to  be  feared  in  proportion  to  their  number;  and  that 


120  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  more  commanders  they  had,  the  less  their  power 
was  to  be  feared.  The  King  was  lodged  at  the  ChSr 
teau  d'Arques,  which  is  seated  on  a  little  hill,  to  stop 
the  passage  of  the  valley  which  goes  to  Dieppe.  The 
Duke  had  formed  a  design  to  take  this  post  by  sea,  by 
four  or  five  renewed  attempts ;  and  on  divers  days  he 
essayed  to  assault  the  suburbs  of  Polet,  and  four  or 
five  times  was  driven  back.  Our  Henri  daily  did 
wonders,  and  exposed  himself  so  much  that  once  he 
thought  he  would  have  been  surprised  and  encom- 
passed by  his  enemies.  At  last  the  Duke,  having  lost 
eleven  days'  time,  and  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred 
men,  raised  the  siege  and  retired  into  Picardy. 

It  was  believed  that  he  passed  into  this  province 
lest  the  Picards,  a  free  and  honest  people,  but  very 
simple,  should  permit  themselves  to  be  surprised  by 
the  artifices  of  the  agents  of  Spain,  who  would  per- 
suade them  to  cast  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
the  King,  their  master. 

It  was  observed  likewise  that  what  hindered  the 
success  of  his  enterprise  at  Dieppe,  and  which  kept 
him  two  or  three  days  without  attempting  anything 
at  the  time  he  ought  to  have  done  it,  was  the  jealousy 
and  contentions  between  the  chiefs  who  accompanied 
him,  particularly  of  the  Marquis  du  Pont-a-Mousson, 
son  to  the  Due  de  Lorraine,  of  the  Due  de  Nemours, 
and  of  the  Chevalier  d'Aumale  ;  for  they,  believing  the 
capture   of  the  King  certain,  or  at  least  his  flight 


HENRI   IV.  121 

assured,  and  disposing  already  of  the  kingdom  as  of 
their  conquest,  regarded  one  another  with  an  eye  of 
jealousy,  and  each  formed  designs  in  his  head  to  have 
the  better  part  of  it.  It  was  observed  likewise  that 
in  one  of  these  combats  of  Dieppe,  the  Due  de 
Mayenne,  having  at  present  some  advantage,  would 
have  gained  an  entire  victory  if  he  had  advanced  but 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  quicker;  but  marching  too 
slowly,  he  let  slip  that  opportunity  he  could  never 
redeem ;  which  made  the  King,  who  well  observed  his 
fault,  say,  "If  he  act  ever  in  that  manner,  I  shall  be 
certain  always  to  gain  the  field." 

I  have  recounted  these  particulars,  because  they 
make  known  the  defects  of  that  great  body,  the 
League,  and  the  true  causes  which  hindered  its  prog- 
ress, and  reduced  it  to  nothing.  I  find  three  principal 
ones. 

The  first  was  the  distrust  the  Due  de  Mayenne  had 
of  the  Spaniards ;  for  though  he  could  not  be  without 
them,  yet  he  could  but  regard  them  as  his  secret 
enemies  ;  and  they  assisted  him,  not  for  love  of  him- 
self, but  out  of  the  design  they  had  to  profit  them- 
selves out  of  the  calamities  of  France.  And  therefore, 
when  they  saw  that  he  concurred  not  with  them  for 
their  ends,  and  that  he  thought  only  of  his  own  ad- 
vantage without  theirs,  they  afforded  him  but  feeble 
succour ;  in  such  manner  they  let  him  fall  so  low  that 
when  they  would  themselves  have  done  it,  they  could 
not  raise  him. 


122  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

The  second  was  the  jealousy  of  the  chiefs,  who 
never  agreed  among  themselves.  They  thought  more 
of  crossing  and  ruining  one  another  than  of  weaken- 
ing their  common  enemy  ;  and  confounded  themselves 
in  such  manner  by  their  delusions  and  partialities 
that  they  were  ever  wanting  in  the  greatest  enter- 
prises; whereas  in  the  party  of  the  King,  there  was 
only  one  chief,  to  whom  all  was  reported,  and  by 
whose  orders  all  was  done. 

The  third  was  the  heaviness  and  dullness  of  the 
Due  de  Mayenne,  who  at  all  times  moved  slowly. 
His  flatterers  called  this  gravity.  This  defect  pro- 
ceeded principally  from  his  nature ;  and  was  aug- 
mented not  only  by  the  mass  of  his  body,  great  and 
fat  beyond  all  proportion,  and  which  in  consequence 
required  a  great  deal  of  nourishment  and  much  sleep, 
but  likewise  from  a  coldness  and  a  numbness  which  a 
certain  malady  had  reduced  to  a  habitude  in  his  body. 
This  malady  he  had  contracted  at  Paris  shortly  after 
the  death  of  Henri  III.,  at  which  event,  some  say,  the 
Duke  would  very  unhandsomely  rejoice. 

King  Henri  IV.  was  not  of  the  same  temperament ; 
for  though  he  very  much  loved  feasting  and  to  divert 
himself  with  his  friends  when  he  had  leisure,  never- 
theless, when  engaged  in  affairs  of  war,  or  of  any 
other  nature,  he  never  sat  at  table  longer  than  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour,  and  never  slept  for  more  than  two  or 
three  hours  together;  so  that  Pope  Sixtus  Y.,  being 


HENRI   IV.  123 

well  informed  of  his  manner  of  living  and  that  of  the 
Due  de  Majenne,  confidently  prognosticated  that  the 
"  Bdarnais  "  (for  so  he  called  him,  as  all  the  Leaguers 
did)  could  not  fail  to  have  the  better  of  it,  since  he 
lay  no  longer  in  bed  than  the  Due  de  Mayenne  sat  at 
table. 

Officers  and  servants  form  themselves  after  the 
example  of  their  masters.  Those  of  the  King  were 
ready,  cheerful,  and  vigilant ;  who  executed  his  com- 
mands as  soon  as  they  came  out  of  his  mouth  ;  who 
took  care  of  all,  and  acquainted  him  with  all.  On  the 
contrary,  those  of  the  Duke  were  slow,  negligent,  idle, 
and,  however  pressing  the  occasion,  would  not  lose 
anything  of  their  ease  and  diversions. 

It  seemed  to  me  that,  for  the  better  understanding 
of  our  history,  it  was  necessary  to  observe  these  cir- 
cumstances, which  are  absolutely  essential  and  very 
instructive. 

"We  have  particularised  at  the  end  of  Part  I.  who 
were  the  chiefs  of  the  League,  and  how  they  held  all 
the  best  cities  and  richest  provinces  of  the  realm.  I 
should  never  end  did  I  recount  all  the  factions,  fights, 
enterprises,  and  changes  which  happened  in  every  pro- 
vince for  the  space  of  five  or  six  years.  We  shall  follow 
only  the  great  events,  and  behold  how  the  providence 
of  God  and  the  incomparable  virtue  of  our  Henri  so 
drew  France  out  of  its  labyrinth  of  miseries  that  the 
State  and  religion,  which  might  have  been  destroyed 


124  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

by  an  irreparable  war,  were  both  miraculously  saved, 
and  flourished  with  as  much  happiness  and  glory  as 
ever. 

Though  the  Due  de  Mayenne  had  retired  from  be- 
fore Dieppe,  yet  the  people  were  entirely  persuaded 
that  the  King  could  not  escape  him ;  particularly  the 
Parisians,  whom  the  Duchesse  de  Montpensier  made 
believe,  —  by  couriers  sent  for  this  purpose,  whom 
she  caused  to  arrive  from  day  to  day,  —  now  that  he 
yielded  himself,  now  that  he  was  taken,  and  at  last 
that  he  was  coming  to  Paris ;  so  that  there  were  even 
many  ladies  who  hired  windows  in  the  street  of  St. 
Denis  to  see  him  pass  by. 

Whilst  they  amused  themselves  with  these  false  re- 
ports, they  were  much  astonished  to  understand  that, 
having  received  a  reinforcement  of  four  thousand 
English,  he  was  now  upon  his  march,  and  coming 
directly  to  Paris.  He  had  intelligence  which  prom- 
ised him  that  if  he  could  gain  the  suburbs,  they 
would  open  for  him  a  way  into  the  city.  He  as- 
saulted therefore  those  of  St.  Germain,  St.  Michael, 
St.  Jacques,  St.  Marceau,  and  St.  Victor,  and  carried 
them  by  surprise ;  but  he  could  not  gain  the  quarter 
of  the  University,  as  he  hoped,  because  his  cannon 
were  not  brought  in  time.  About  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning  on  All  Saints'  Day,  he  entered  the  sub- 
urbs of  St.  Jacques,  where  he  found  the  people  had 
no  aversion  to  him,  for  he  saw  them,  not  affrighted 


HENRI  rV.  125 

nor  despairingly  fleeing,  but  looking  out  of  their  win- 
dows to  regard  him,  and  crying,  "  Vive  le  Roi!''^  He 
used  his  advantage  with  a  great  moderation.  He  for- 
bade all  sorts  of  violence  or  plunder,  and  gave  orders 
that  divine  service  should  be  continued,  so  that  his 
people  peaceably  assisted  at  it  with  the  burgesses, 
whilst  he,  having  mounted  the  steeple  of  St.  Ger- 
main, attentively  considered  what  was  being  done  in 
the  city. 

That  evening,  the  Due  de  Nemours  having  posted 
thither  with  the  cavalry,  and  the  Due  de  Mayenne 
following  the  day  after  with  his  infantry,  the  King  re- 
tired to  Montlh^ry ;  but  beforehand  he  drew  up  his 
army  in  battle  array  in  the  sight  of  Paris,  and  kept 
them  for  four  hours  under  arms,  to  make  known  to 
the  Parisians  the  weakness  of  their  chiefs. 

After  this  Estampes,  YendSme,  Le  Mans,  and 
Alengon,  unable  to  sustain  his  presence  and  arms,  sur- 
rendered to  him ;  and  in  the  way  things  were  going, 
and  in  the  manner  the  chiefs  of  the  League  defended 
themselves,  he  would  without  doubt  have  reconquered 
the  whole  realm  in  less  than  fifteen  months,  if  he  had 
not  wanted  money.  This  defect  alone  retarded  the 
course  of  his  prosperity.  The  ransoms-  imposed  on 
cities  reduced  by  force,  all  that  he  could  borrow,  and 
the  money  he  could  raise  by  taxes,  did  not  half  suf- 
fice to  keep  his  troops  in  a  body.  For  this  reason  he 
was  constrained  for  fom-  or  five  years'  space  to  make 


126 


HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 


war  in  an  extraordinary  manner.  When  his  troops 
had  served  some  months,  and  consumed  besides  their 
pay  all  they  had  foraged  in  their  quarters,  he  sent 
them  home,  as  well  to  refresh  them  as  to  preserve 
their  country  from  the  invasions  of  the  League.  In 
like  manner,  when  the  volunteer  gentlemen  had  spent 
the  money  they  brought  from  other  homes,  he  gave 
them  leave  to  return,  to  endeavour  to  furnish  them- 
selves for  another  campaign,  inviting  them  by  his  ex- 
ample to  retrench  the  superfluous  expense  of  clothes 
and  equipage,  and  otherwise  treating  them  with  so 
much  civility  and  courtesy  that  they  never  failed  him 
on  the  most  pressing  occasions,  for  they  returned  as 
soon  as  possible,  serving  him,  as  we  may  say,  each 
his  quarter. 

In  the  meantime  he  fell  suddenly  upon  Normandy, 
and  almost  entirely  reduced  it;  took  the  cities  of 
Dompfort,  Falaise,  Lisieux,  Bayeux,  and  Honfleur,  — 
this  last  by  a  very  bloody  siege.  After  his  return 
thence  he  took  likewise  Melun,  on  the  Seine,  seven 
leagues  off  Paris,  and  laid  siege  to  Dreux. 

At  the  news  of  these  conquests,  the  Due  de 
Mayenne  was  obliged,  for  the  sake  of  his  reputation, 
to  come  forth  out  of  Paris,  to  assemble  his  troops, 
and  to  receive,  contrary  to  his  inclination,  fifteen 
hundred  lancers  and  five  hundred  carabineers  from 
the  Duke  of  Parma,  Governor  of  the  Low  Countries. 
These  forces  were  commanded  by  the  Comte  d'Eg- 
mont. 


HENRI  rV.  127 

After  this  Duke  had  regained  several  little  places 
which  inconvenienced  Paris  and  the  country  adjacent, 
he  crossed  the  Seine,  by  the  bridges  of  Mantes,  to 
succour  Dreux,  imagining  he  might  do  it  without 
hazarding  anything.  The  King,  as  soon  as  he  had 
advice  of  his  advance,  raised  his  siege,  but  with  the 
intention  of  fighting  him,  and  with  this  object  he 
drew  up  his  forces  at  Nonancourt,  on  the  river  Eure. 

Two  things  principally  impelled  him  to  this  resolu- 
tion of  giving  him  battle :  the  one,  because,  wanting 
money,  he  could  not  long  keep  his  troops  together, 
and  had  he  led  them  into  Normandy  he  would  un- 
profitably  have  spent  all  the  revenue  of  that  province, 
which  alone  he  valued  above  all  others  he  held ;  the 
other,  because  he  perceived  so  great  a  rejoicing  through- 
out all  his  army,  who  seemed  to  leap  for  joy  when  they 
were  told  they  were  about  to  attack  the  enemy,  demon- 
sti-ating  by  their  outward  appearances  that  a  day  of 
fighting  would  be  unto  them  as  a  day  of  feasting. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  was  not  of  opinion  that  he 
ought  to  engage  his  fortune  and  honour  to  the  hazard 
of  one  day,  especially  considering  the  valour  of  the 
King's  forces  in  comparison  with  his,  the  great  ex- 
perience and  incomparable  courage  of  that  Prince, 
and  with  all  this,  his  good  fortime,  which  had  al- 
ready gained  so  great  an  ascendency  over  his  that 
he  believed  he  could  no  better  overcome  him  than  ])y 
avoiding  encounters  with  him.      But  the  reproaches 


128  HISTORIC   COURT   IklEMOIRS. 

of  the  Parisians;  the  insistence  of  the  legate  whom 
the  Pope  had  sent  to  support  the  interests  of  the 
League ;  the  Spanish  cabal,  who,  on  whichever  side 
fortune  turned  itself,  promised  themselves  great  ad- 
vantages from  this  battle  ;  and,  lastly,  the  shame  of 
having  lost  more  than  forty  places  in  six  months 
without  having  endeavoured  to  succour  any  of  them, 
led  him  perforce  to  the  relief  of  Dreux ;  and  when  he 
was  near  it,  the  false  news  he  had  that  the  King  was 
retiring  towards  the  city  of  Yerneuil  au  Perche,  and 
the  bravadoes  of  the  Comte  d'Egmont, —  who  boasted 
himself  able  with  his  troops  alone  to  defeat  the 
army  of  the  King,  —  caused  him  to  pass  the  river 
Eure,  over  the  bridge  of  Ivry,  with  extraordinary 
diligence. 

To  speak  the  truth,  both  the  King  and  he  were 
equally  surprised,  —  the  King  to  discover  that  he 
had  so  soon  accomplished  his  object,  and  the  Duke 
to  see  that  the  King,  whom  he  believed  to  have  taken 
the  way  towards  Yerneuil,  was  coming  directly  to- 
wards him.  But  now  neither  could  withdi'aw  if  he 
would,  but  must  necessarily  come  to  a  battle,  which 
happened  on  the  14th  of  March,  near  the  town  of 
Ivry. 

The  histories  give  at  large  the  description  of  the 
field  of  battle,  the  order  of  both  armies,  the  charges 
which  the  battalions  and  squadrons  on  both  sides 
made,  and  the  faults  of  the   chiefs   of   the   League. 


HENRI   IV.  129 

We  shall  therefore  say  nothing  but  what  concerns  the 
person  of  our  Prince.^ 

His  rare  intelligence,  his  wonderful  genius,  and  his 
indefatigable  activity  in  the  art  of  war  were  all  ad- 
mired. It  was  wonderful  how  he  could  give  so  many 
orders  without  perplexing  his  intellect,  and  with  as 
little  confusion  as  if  he  had  been  in  his  closet ;  how 
he  could  so  perfectly  arrange  his  troops ;  and  how, 
having  observed  the  enemy's  design,  he  could  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  change  the  whole  order  of  his 
army ;  how  during  the  fight  he  could  be  everywhere, 
take  notice  of  everything,  and  himself  give  orders,  as 
if  he  had  had  a  hundred  eyes,  and  as  many  arms,  the 
noise,  confusion,  dust,  and  smoke  augmenting  rather 
than  troubling  his  judgment  and  knowledge. 

The  armies  being  ready  to  attack  each  other,  he 
lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  joining  his  hands, 
called  God  to  be  witness  of  his  intention,  invoking 
his  assistance,  and  praying  that  he  would  reduce 
the  rebels  to  an  acknowledgment  of  him  whom  the 

*  There  was  little  order  in  the  action :  on  one  wing,  the  Germans  of 
the  League  behaved  ill  and  yielded;  on  the  other,  the  royalists  were 
beaten,  but  Biron  rallied  them  with  reinforcements.  The  combat  was 
decided  by  the  central  force  of  either  army,  the  Comte  d'Egmont  leading 
the  Spaniards,  and  Mayenne  the  gentlemen  of  his  party  against  the  King. 
The  Leaguers  were  marshalled  too  closely  together.  Henri's  squadron 
got  among  them,  and  a  sanguinary  mSlie  ensued.  The  King  was  reported 
to  be  killed,  but  soon  showed  his  white  plume  in  the  path  that  he  had 
promised.  Egmont  was  slain,  Mayenne's  standard-bearer  fell  by  Henri's 
own  hand,  and  the  army  of  the  Leaguers  was  routed  and  driven  from  the 
ground,  —  Martin's  "  History  of  France." 


130  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

order  of  succession  had  given  tliem  for  their  legiti- 
mate sovereign.  "  But,  Lord,"  said  he, "  if  it  pleaseth 
thee  to  dispose  otherwise,  or  that  I  should  be  of  the 
number  of  those  Kings  whom  thou  dedicatest  to  thy 
anger,  deprive  me  of  my  life  with  my  crown  ;  con- 
sent that  I  may  this  day  fall  a  victim  to  thy  holy 
will ;  let  my  death  deliver  France  from  the  calamities 
of  war,  and  my  blood  be  the  last  that  shall  be  shed  in 
this  quarrel." 

Immediately  after,  he  caused  his  helmet  to  be  given 
him,  on  the  top  of  which  he  had  a  plume  of  three 
white  feathers ;  and  having  put  it  on,  before  he  pulled 
down  his  visor,  he  told  his  squadrons  :  "  My  compan- 
ions, if  you  this  day  follow  my  fortune  I  shall  likewise 
follow  yours.  I  will  overcome,  or  die  with  you.  Let 
me  only  conjure  you  to  keep  your  ranks ;  and  if  the 
heat  of  the  combat  make  you  quit  them,  think  at  once 
of  rallying ;  it  will  be  the  gain  of  the  battle.  You 
may  do  so  between  those  tliree  trees  which  you  see 
there  on  high,  on  your  right  hand  (they  were  three 
pear-trees) ;  and  if  you  lose  your  ensigns,  cornets, 
or  banners,  lose  not  the  sight  of  my  white  feather, 
which  you  will  always  find  in  the  road  to  honour  and 
victory." 

The  result  of  the  battle,  having  been  for  a  long 
time  uncertain,  was  in  the  end  favourable  to  him,  the 
principal  glory  being  due  to  himself  alone ;  so  much 
the  more   because  he  charged  most  impetuously  on 


HENRI  ly.  131 

that  formidable  body  commanded  by  the  Comte  d'Eg- 
mont,  and  having  entered  that  forest  of  lances  with 
his  sword  in  his  hand,  rendered  them  useless  and  con- 
strained them  to  resort  to  their  short  arms,  by  which 
he  had  a  great  advantage,  because  the  French  were 
more  agile  and  active  than  the  Flemings ;  so  that  in 
less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  he  had  pierced  them, 
dispersed  them,  and  put  them  to  rout ;  this  being  the 
chief  cause  of  his  winning  the  battle. 

Of  sixteen  thousand  men  which  the  Duke  had, 
there  were  scarce  four  thousand  saved.  There  re- 
mained over  a  thousand  horse  on  the  field  with  the 
Comte  d'Egmont,  four  hmidred  prisoners  of  note,  and 
all  the  infantry,  for  the  lansquenets  were  all  cut  to 
pieces.  They  took  all  his  baggage,  cannon,  ensigns, 
and  cornets,  —  to  wit,  twenty  cornets  of  cavalry,  the 
white  cornet  of  the  Duke,  the  colonel  of  the  German 
horse,  the  great  standard  of  Comte  d'Egmont,  and 
sixty  colours  of  foot. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  acquitted  himself  with  great 
valour,  and  many  times  endeavoured  to  rally  his 
troops ;  but  in  the  end,  for  fear  of  being  encom- 
passed, he  retired  towards  the  bridge  of  Ivry,  and  hav- 
ing crossed  it,  caused  it  to  be  broken  down  to  stop 
those  who  pursued  him,  and  so  escaped  to  Mantes, 
thence  to  St.  Denis,  and  afterwards  to  Paris.  A  great 
part  of  the  fugitives  took  the  same  way  with  him ; 
others  took  that  of  the  plain  and  reached  the  city  of 
Chartres. 


132  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  King  having  engaged  himself  during  the  retreat 
among  a  squadron  of  Walloons,  was  in  great  danger 
of  his  person,  so  that  his  army  for  some  time  believed 
him  dead ;  upon  which  the  Marechal  de  Biron,  accus- 
tomed to  speak  freely  to  him,  and  who  had  taken  no 
part  in  the  fighting,  but  had  been  posted  with  a  body 
of  reserves  to  prevent  the  rallying  of  the  enemy,  could 
not  refrain  from  saying  to  him,  "  Ah,  Sire,  this  is  not 
just ;  you  have  this  day  done  what  Biron  ought  to 
do,  and  he  only  what  the  King  ought  to  have  done." 

This  remonstrance  was  approved  by  all  those  who 
heard  it,  and  the  principal  chiefs  took  the  liberty  to 
entreat  the  King  not  to  again  expose  his  person,  but 
to  consider  that  God  had  not  destined  him  to  be  a 
musketeer,  but  to  be  King  of  France ;  that  all  the 
arms  of  his  subjects  ought  to  fight  for  him,  but  that 
they  would  all  become  lame  and  benumbed  should  they 
lose  the  head  which  gave  them  motion. 

His  valour  this  day  outshone  that  of  the  greatest 
of  his  chieftains.  But  besides  that,  his  clemency,  his 
generosity,  and  his  courtesy  added  a  wonderful  splen- 
dour to  his  fair  actions ;  and  the  manner  in  which  he 
used  his  victory  was  a  certain  proof  that  he  gained  it 
by  his  conduct  rather  than  by  fortune. 

He  chose  rather  to  deal  mercifully  with  the  battal- 
ions of  Swiss  than  to  cut  them  to  pieces,  as  he  might 
have  done.  He  restored  to  them  their  ensigns,  and 
caused  them  to  be  escorted  back  into  their  own  coun- 


HENRI  IV.  133 

try  by  his  emissaries,  by  which  he  gained  the  affection 
of  five  httle  Catholic  cantons. 

He  had  no  greater  desire  in  his  heart  than  to  make 
his  subjects  know  that  he  desired  to  spare  their  blood, 
and  that  they  had  to  do  with  a  mild  and  merciful 
king,  and  not  with  a  cruel  and  implacable  enemy. 
He  caused  to  be  proclaimed  in  the  rout,  "  Save  the 
French,  and  let  your  blows  fall  on  the  stranger."  He 
had  mercy  upon  all  those  who  demanded  quarter,  and 
saved  them  as  much  as  he  could  from  the  hands  of 
the  soldiers  flushed  with  victory.  He  treated  the 
prisoners,  particularly  the  gentlemen,  not  only  with 
humanity,  but  likewise  with  courtesy ;  and  he  loaded 
with  honour,  praises,  and  thanks  all  the  nobility  who 
had  fought  for  him,  sharing  with  them  the  honour  of 
the  day,  and  giving  them  embraces  as  earnests  of  those 
recompenses  they  might  expect  from  him  when  he 
should  be  in  power. 

I  cannot  forget  one  action  which  he  did  of  wonder- 
ful goodness,  and  which  was  of  marvellous  efficacy  in 
drawing  to  him  the  hearts  of  his  officers  and  gentle- 
men. Colonel  Thische,  or  Theodoric  of  Schomberg, 
commanding  some  troops  of  German  horse,  had  been 
enforced  the  evening  before  the  battle,  by  the  clamours 
of  those  brutes,  to  demand  of  him  those  arrears  which 
were  due  to  them ;  and  to  represent  to  him  that,  ex- 
cept upon  these  conditions,  they  would  not  fight.  The 
Swiss  and  Germans  of  that  time  used  often  to  act  so, 


134  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

of  which  history  furnishes  us  with  a  hundred  exam- 
ples. The  King,  much  incensed  at  such  a  demand, 
answered  him,  "  How,  Colonel  Thische !  is  this  done 
like  a  man  of  honour,  to  demand  money,  when  you 
ought  to  receive  orders  for  the  battle  ?  "  The  Colonel 
retired,  much  confused,  without  making  any  reply. 
On  the  morrow  the  King,  having  arranged  his  troops, 
remembered  he  had  ill-treated  him ;  and  thereupon, 
pressed  by  an  impulse  which  could  find  no  place 
but  in  a  generous  soul,  went  to  seek  him  and  said  to 
him :  "  Colonel,  you  see  we  are  engaged  in  an  occasion 
which  permits  us  no  long  stay ;  but  it  is  not  just 
that  I  should  take  away  the  honour  of  so  brave  a 
gentleman  as  yourself.  I  declare,  therefore,  that  I 
acknowledge  you  as  being  an  honest  man,  and  one 
incapable  of  committing  anything  unworthy." 

This  said,  he  cordially  embraced  him ;  and  the 
Colonel,  with  tears  standing  in  his  eyes,  with  tender- 
ness answered  him :  "  Ah,  Sire,  by  restoring  me  that 
honour  you  had  deprived  me  of,  you  deprive  me  of 
my  life;  for  I  should  be  unworthy  if  I  did  not  this 
day  lay  it  down  for  your  service.  If  I  had  a  thousand, 
I  would  willingly  lay  them  all  down  at  your  feet." 
In  short,  he  was  slain  on  this  occasion,  as  were  many 
other  brave  gentlemen. 

I  will  recount  yet  another  worthy  action,  which 
may  admirably  demonstrate  how  our  Henri  spared 
neither  civilities  nor  caresses    to    a   gentleman   who 


HENRI   IV.  135 

served  him  well.  At  night,  when  he  supped  at  the 
castle  of  Rosny,  being  informed  that  the  Mar^chal 
d'Aumont  came  to  render  him  an  accomit  of  what  he 
had  done,  he  went  forth  to  meet  him  ;  and  having 
straightway  embraced  him,  carried  him  in  to  supper, 
and  made  him  sit  at  the  table,  saying  that  there 
was  great  reason  he  should  be  at  the  feast,  since  he 
had  so  well  served  at  his  nuptials. 

The  terror  was  so  great  in  Paris  after  the  loss  of 
this  battle,  that,  if  the  King  had  gone  directly  thither, 
there  is  no  doubt  but  that  they  would  have  received 
him  without  much  difficulty.  Some  said  that  it  was 
the  Mar^chal  de  Biron  who  diverted  him,  fearing  that 
afterwards,  not  having  more  need  of  him,  he  should 
consider  him  less.  Others  thought  that  it  was  the 
Huguenot  ministers  and  captains  that  dissuaded  him, 
because  they  feared  lest  he  should  make  arrangements 
with  the  Parisians  with  regard  to  religion ;  and  there- 
fore they  counselled  him  rather  to  gain  this  great 
city  by  famine,  which  the  Marquis  d'O,  at  present 
superintendent,  pressed  very  strongly,  to  the  end  that 
the  King,  taking  it  in  this  way,  might  treat  it  as  a 
conquered  city,  draw  thence  great  treasure,  seize  the 
rents  of  the  H6tel  de  Ville,  making  bankrupt  the  bur- 
gesses for  the  debts  of  the  King,  which  were  very 
gi'eat. 

The  widow  of  Montpensier,  one  of  the  principals 
of  the  League,  who  was  accustomed  to  amuse  the  peo- 


136  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

pie  with  false  news,  could  not  dissemble  the  mischief 
of  the  loss  of  this  battle  but  by  saying  that  "  truly  the 
Duke  had  lost  it,  but  that  the  BSarnais  was  dead." 
The  burgesses  believed  it  for  five  or  six  days ;  and 
this  was  enough  to  restrain  their  first  fears,  and  to 
gain  time  to  give  orders  and  send  to  levy  assistance 
on  all  sides. 

After  the  battle,  the  King,  having  stayed  some  days 
at  Mantes  on  account  of  the  great  rains,  retook  the 
field,  and  took  Lagny,  Provins,  Montereau,  and  Melun, 
without  listening  to  the  propositions  of  truce  made 
to  him  by  Villeroy.  After  having  in  this  march  at- 
tempted to  take  the  city  of  Sens  with  little  success, 
he  came  to  block  up  Paris,  and  took  all  the  posts  and 
castles  about  it,  where  he  lodged  garrisons  of  horse  to 
scour  the  country. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  was  not  therein ;  he  had  left 
the  Due  de  Nemours  as  governor,  and  had  gone  to 
meet  the  Duke  of  Parma  at  Cond^  on  the  Escaut,  to 
demand  of  him  some  assistance  in  his  necessity.  He 
was  in  great  trouble,  and  in  a  just  fear  of  losing  Paris, 
whether  he  relieved  it  or  whether  he  permitted  it  to 
be  taken;  and  that  the  rather  because  he  saw  well 
that  if  he  brought  in  the  Spanish  assistance  the  Six- 
teen would  take  that  opportunity  to  again  raise  them- 
selves up,  and  possibly  out  of  despite  to  him  place 
Paris  under  the  Spanish  yoke ;  for  this  Sixteen  was 
embittered    against  him,  because  he  had  broken  up 


HENRI  IV.  137 

their  Council  of  Forty,  which  bridled  his  authority, 
and,  to  show  himself  absolutely  averse  to  a  republican 
government,  which  they  would  have  introduced,  he 
had  created  another  council,  a  keeper  of  the  seals, 
and  four  secretaries  of  state,  with  whom  he  governed 
affairs,  without  calling  them  except  when  he  had 
need  of  money. 

Besides  this  trouble  there  happened  to  him  another 
subject  of  inquietude,  this  being  the  decease  of  the  old 
Cardinal  de  Bourbon,  who  died  at  Fontenay,  where 
he  was  g-uarded  by  the  Seigneur  de  la  Boulay.  He 
had  reason  to  fear  lest  his  death  should  give  cause  to 
the  Spaniards  and  to  the  Sixteen  to  demand  the  crea- 
tion of  a  king,  and  that  they  would  press  him  so 
much  that  in  the  necessity  he  had  of  their  aid  he 
should  be  obliged  to  suffer  it.  In  fact,  this  was  the 
first  condition  which  the  agents  of  Spain  proposed  in 
the  treaty  they  held  with  him  to  give  him  assistance  ; 
and  he,  from  the  fear  of  displeasing  them,  testified 
that  he  ardently  wished  the  convocation  of  the  Es- 
tates to  elect  a  king,  and  transferred  the  place  of  their 
assembly  from  the  city  of  Melun,  where  he  had 
assigned  it,  to  Paris ;  that  is  to  say,  from  a  city  which 
he  had  lost  to  one  in  which  he  was  besieged.  In  the 
meantime  he  employed  his  friends  with  the  Parlia- 
ment and  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville  so  as  to  keep  to  him- 
self the  quality  of  Lieutenant- General,  which  being 
continued  to  him,  he  avowed  that  he  feared  nothing 


138  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

SO  much  as  the  Estates,  and  endeavoured  with  all  his 
might  to  hinder  them,  which,  to  speak  truth,  com- 
pleted the  ruin  of  his  party. 

Paris  being  blocked  up,  the  legate  (Cardinal  Cae- 
tan)  and  the  Sixteen  forgot  nothing  that  might  en- 
courage their  people.  They  consulted  their  Faculty 
of  Theology,  and  obtained  what  resolutions  they 
pleased  against  him  they  named  the  B^arnais.  They 
caused  many  both  general  and  particular  processions 
to  be  made,  and  the  officers  renewed  their  oath  of 
fidelity  to  the  Holy  Union,  as  they  called  the  League. 

At  the  same  time  the  Due  de  Nemours  took  great 
care  to  put  the  city  in  a  position  of  defence ;  and  the 
burgesses,  being  for  the  most  part  persuaded  that 
if  the  King  took  it  he  would  establish  preaching  and 
abolish  the  mass,  were  possessed  with  an  extreme 
ardour,  and  contributed  all  that  was  demanded,  either 
of  their  purse  or  labour,  towards  its  fortification. 

There  is  no  finer  passage  in  the  history  of  that 
time  than  the  relation  of  this  siege, —  the  orders 
which  Nemours  gave  in  the  city,  the  garrisons  he 
estabhshed  in  divers  quarters,  the  sallies  he  made  for 
the  first  month,  the  inventions  he  used  to  animate  the 
people,  the  endeavours  and  divers  practices  of  the 
King's  friends  to  bring  him  into  the  city,  the  negotia- 
tions held  on  one  side  and  the  other  to  essay  a  treaty ; 
how  provisions  diminished,  how  they  sought  means  to 
make  them  last,  how,  notwithstanding  all  their  econ- 


HENRI  IV.  139 

omy,  the  famine  was  extreme ;  and  how  in  the  end 

that  great  city,  being  within  three  or  four  days  of 
utterly  perishing,  was  delivered  by  the  Duke  of 
Parma.^ 

I  shall  observe  only  some  particulars  very  memor- 
able. There  were  in  Paris,  when  it  was  besieged,  only 
two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  persons,  among 
these  nearly  thirty  thousand  of  the  people  of  the 
coimtry  round  about,  who  had  there  sought  refuge ; 
and  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  of  the  ordinary  in- 
habitants had  left  the  city ;  so  that  in  those  times 
there  were  no  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  souls 
in  Paris. 

The  King  was  made  to  hope  that,  as  soon  as  the 
Parisians  had  for  seven  or  eight  days  seen  the  gran- 
aries and  markets  without  bread,  the  butcheries  with- 
out meat,  the  ports  without  corn,  wine,  and  other 
commodities  with  which  the  river  is  accustomed  to  be 
covered,  they  would  take  their  chiefs  by  the  throat 
and  force  them  to  treat  with  him;  or  at  least,  if  a 
seditious  humour  did  not  so  soon  prompt  them  to  it, 
famine  would  force  them  in  fifteen  days.  In  fact, 
they  had  but  five  weeks'  victuals,  but  they  managed 
them  carefully ;  and  those  who  had  advised  the  King 
knew  not  well  the  people  of  Paris,  for  they  are  won- 
derfully patient,  nor  is  there  any  extremity  they  are 
not  capable  to  suffer,  provided  they  have  those  who 

1  Alexander  Famese,  Duke  of  Parma,  born  1546,  killed  in  1692. 


140  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

know  how  to  lead  them,  and  principally  when  it  is  a 
question  of  their  religion.  It  cannot  be  read  without 
astonishment  how  blind  was  the  obedience  and  how 
constant  the  union  of  that  fierce  and  indocile  people 
for  four  whole  months  of  horrible  losses  and  miseries. 
The  famine  was  so  great  that  the  people  ate  even  the 
herbs  that  grew  m  the  ditches.  Dogs,  cats,  and  hides 
of  leather  were  food,  and  some  have  reported  that  the 
lansquenets,  or  foot  soldiers,  fed  upon  such  children  as 
they  could  entrap. 

The  Huguenots,  ravished  with  delight  to  hold  that 
city  blocked  up  which  had  done  them  so  much  mis- 
chief, insisted  strongly  in  the  King's  Council,  and 
not  only  cried  it  there  themselves,  but  caused  it  to 
be  cried  aloud  among  the  soldiers,  that  it  should  be 
assaulted  vigorously,  and  that  in  six  hours  it  would 
become  a  desolate  thing.  But  the  good  and  wise 
King  did  not  follow  those  passionate  counsels  ;  he 
knew  well  that  they  would  take  parts  by  force,  that 
they  might  murder  all  in  revenge  of  the  massacres 
of  St.  Bartholomew.  And  moreover  he  considered 
that  they  would  thus  lay  a  city  desolate,  the  ruin  of 
which,  like  a  wound  struck  in  the  heart,  might  pos- 
sibly prove  mortal  to  all  France  ;  that  he  would  in 
one  day  dissipate  the  richest  and  almost  the  only 
treasure  of  his  State,  and  that  no  person  would 
be  benefited  by  it  except  the  simple  soldiery,  who, 
becoming  insolent  by  so  rich  a  booty,  would  either 


HENRI   IV.  141 

overwhelm  themselves  in  their  pleasures  or  abandon 
him. 

Those  who  had  charge  of  the  victualling  of  the 
city  committed  a  great  error  in  not  sending  forth 
the  numerous  poor  and  useless  mouths.  The  scarcity 
augmenting,  they  sought,  too  late,  means  to  remedy 
it ;  but  not  finding  any,  they  sent  messengers  to  the 
King  to  gain  his  permission  to  allow  a  certain  number 
to  depart,  who,  hoping  for  his  grace,  were  already 
assembled  near  the  gate  of  St.  Victor,  and  had  taken 
leave  of  their  friends  and  neighbours  with  those  re- 
grets which  rend  asunder  the  hearts  of  even  the  most 
insensible. 

The  King  was  so  good  and  merciful  that  he 
granted  this  favour ;  but  some  of  his  Council  op- 
posed it  so  strongly  that,  for  fear  of  displeasing 
them,  he  was  at  first  constrained  to  send  back  those 
miserable  people.  His  clemency,  however,  could  not, 
for  any  long  time,  suffer  their  violence  ;  for  having 
heard  from  many  who,  fearing  death  less  than  fam- 
ine, had  leapt  from  the  walls,  the  pitiful  state  of  the 
city,  and  they  having  truly  represented  to  him  what 
they  had  beheld  of  their  terrible  privations  through 
the  incredible  obstinacy  of  the  Leaguers,  he  was  so 
overburdened  with  grief  that  the  tears  started  from 
his  eyes ;  and  having  turned  himself  away  to  con- 
ceal his  emotion,  he  heaved  a  great  sigh,  with  these 
words :  "  0  Lord,  thou  knowest  who  are  the  causes 


142 


HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 


of  this ;  but  give  me  the  means  to  save  those  whom 
the  obstinate  malice  of  my  enemies  would  cause  to 
perish." 

In  vain  did  the  most  adverse  of  his  Council,  and 
especially  the  Huguenots,  represent  to  him  that  these 
rebels  merited  no  favour ;  he  resolved  to  open  a  pas- 
sage to  the  innocent.  "  I  wonder  not  at  all,"  he  said, 
"  that  the  chiefs  of  the  League  or  the  Spaniards  have 
so  little  compassion  on  those  poor  people,  —  they  are 
only  tyrants  ;  but  for  myself,  who  am  their  father 
and  their  King,  I  cannot  bear  the  recital  of  these 
calamities  without  being  touched  to  the  bottom  of 
my  soul,  or  without  ardently  desiring  to  remedy 
them.  I  cannot  hinder  those  whom  the  fury  of  the 
League  possesses  from  perishing  with  it;  but  for 
those  who  implore  my  clemency,  and  who  are  only 
guilty  of  the  crimes  of  others,  I  will  stretch  forth 
my  arms  to  them."  This  said,  he  commanded  that 
they  should  permit  those  miserable  people  to  depart. 
There  were  some  who  crawled,  and  others  who  had 
to  be  carried.  There  came  out  at  this  time  more 
than  four  thousand,  who  all  with  great  and  unani- 
mous shouts  cried,  "  Long  live  the  King  ! " 

After  that  day,  since  they  knew  it  offended  him 
not,  the  captains  who  kept  the  guards  daily  permitted 
great  bands  to  escape,  and  likewise  had  the  boldness 
to  send  victuals  and  refreshments  to  their  friends  and 
to  their  former  hosts,  and  particularly  to  the  ladies ; 


HENKI   IV.  143 

for  Paris  being  the  common  country  of  the  French, 
there  are  few  people  who  love  it  not,  and  who  have 
not  there  some  gage  of  friendship  which  forbids  them 
from  procuring  its  loss  and  utter  ruin. 

After  the  example  of  the  captains,  the  soldiers  took 
the  liberty  of  conveying  to  them  meat,  bread,  and 
barrels  of  wine  over  the  walls,  receiving  in  exchange 
some  rich  goods  at  an  exorbitant  price,  and  making 
themselves  brave  at  the  expense  of  the  merchants, 
which  these  in  some  manner  were  constrained  to 
tolerate,  because  the  others  had  no  money  wherewith 
to  pay  them.  This  made  Paris  stand  out  nearly  a 
month  longer  than  it  would  have  done ;  but  it  is 
almost  impossible  but  that  this  should  always  happen 
on  such  occasions,  as  has  been  seen  not  so  long  since. 
God  be  pleased  forever  hereafter  to  preserve  France 
from  such  great  ills  ! 

After  all,  the  King  knew  certainly  that  that  great 
city  could  not  long  subsist ;  and  he  desired  to  gain 
absolutely  their  hearts,  in  order  that  he  might  under- 
mine the  very  foundations  of  the  League.  For  this 
reason  he  combated  their  obstinacy  with  an  excess  of 
indulgence.  He  gave  passports  to  the  scholars,  not 
being  able  to  refuse  the  requests  of  their  parents  who 
were  with  him ;  afterwards  to  the  ladies  and  to  the 
ecclesiastics ;  and  in  the  end  to  those  who  had  shown 
themselves  his  most  bitter  enemies. 

However,  to  hasten  a  little  the  chiefs  of  the  League 


144  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

in  coming  to  a  capitulation,  it  was  agreed  in  his  Coun- 
cil that  he  should  render  himself  master  of  the  sub- 
urbs. On  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  July  he  caused 
them  all  to  be  assaulted  at  once.  They  were  forced 
in  less  than  an  hour,  and  all  the  gates  blocked  up,  his 
soldiers  having  first  fortified  their  quarters  and  thrown 
down  the  houses  nearest  the  ditch. 

By  this  last  action  he  took  the  Parisians  by  the 
throats,  and  pressed  them  so  that  they  could  scarcely 
breathe  ;  their  chiefs  by  reason  of  which  apprehending 
that  neither  their  defences,  exhortations,  nor  fear  of 
punishments  would  be  capable  to  retain  them  any 
longer,  concluded  after  ten  or  twelve  deliberations  to 
enter  into  conference  with  the  King,  not  out  of  a  cor- 
dial intention  to  treat  with  him,  but  only  to  spin  out 
things  to  such  a  length  that  they  might  give  time  to 
the  Due  de  Mayenne  to  make  an  attempt  to  succour 
them. 

They  received  intelligence  from  that  Duke  twice 
every  week,  and  each  time  he  promised  them  that  he 
would  be  with  them  with  a  powerful  army  in  five  or 
six  days.  Having  fed  them  with  these  hopes  for  five 
or  six  weeks,  he  advanced  in  the  end  to  Meaux,  where 
Vitry  was  governor,  and  from  there  gave  them  some 
greater  hopes  of  relief.  He  was,  however,  too  weak 
to  hazard  it. 

The  Duke  of  Parma,  who  had  orders  from  Spain 
to  join  with  him  and  not  to  spare  anything  for  the 


HENRI   IV.  146 

relief  of  Paris,  came  with  great  unwillingness.  He 
feared  lest  during  his  absence  the  Council  or  Cabinet 
should  appoint  a  successor  in  his  government,  and 
that  he  should  lose  more  in  the  Low  Countries  than 
he  should  gain  in  France.  However,  he  received 
commands  so  express  that  he  was  constrained  to  obey. 
He  departed  therefore  from  Valenciennes  on  the  6th 
of  August,  and  arrived  at  Meaux  on  the  22d.  He 
brought  along  with  him  only  twelve  thousand  foot 
and  three  thousand  horse,  but  artillery  and  ammuni- 
tion for  an  army  thrice  as  great,  and  fifteen  hundred 
wagons  of  provisions  to  revictual  Paris. 

He  was  without  doubt  the  greatest  captain  among 
strangers  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived  for  all  exploits 
which  depend  on  profound  reason  and  judicious  con- 
duct. He  had  so  well  laid  his  plans,  so  well  taken 
his  measures  by  the  most  exact  maps  of  the  country, 
and  so  well  meditated  on  all  that  could  befall  him  and 
all  that  he  could  do,  that  he  felt  himself  assured  of 
success. 

Those  who  were  about  the  King  had  always  made 
him  believe  that  this  Duke  would  not  leave  the  Low 
Countries,  and  said  that  if  he  did,  he  would  not  be 
able  to  raise  a  sufficient  force  to  march  into  the  heart 
of  France,  or  if  he  raised  any  great  army,  he  would 
not  arrive  in  time  to  deliver  Paris.  The  King  suffered 
himself  to  be  a  little  carried  away  with  these  false  rea- 
sons ;  but  when  he  understood  that  he  was  marching 


146  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

in  this  manner,  he  began  already  to  fear  that  which 
happened ;  and  the  danger  appeared  so  much  the 
more  because  he  had  less  foreseen  it.  In  these  ap- 
prehensions he  was  well  content  to  renew  the  negotia- 
tion with  the  Due  de  Majenne,  who  on  his  side  feigned 
to  desire  a  truce  more  than  ever,  in  order  that  he 
might  keep  him  occupied,  for  fear  he  should  assault 
Paris  bj  force,  —  and  also  to  sustain  the  Parisians 
with  the  hopes  of  their  final  delivery ;  for  the  famine 
made  them  despair  so  much  that  it  was  no  longer  in 
his  power,  with  all  his  inventions,  to  restrain  them 
from  surrender  for  more  than  five  or  six  days  at 
most. 

When  the  Duke  of  Parma  was  within  two  days' 
journey  of  Meaux,  he  caused  it  to  be  signified  to  the 
King  that  the  Due  de  Mayenne  could  no  longer  treat 
except  conjointly  with  him.  At  first  the  Council  of 
the  Kmg  was  much  astonished  and  in  a  great  irresolu- 
tion, not  knowing  what  to  do.  It  was  without  doubt 
a  great  blow  for  the  King,  and  a  notable  diminishing 
of  the  reputation  of  his  arms,  to  raise  a  siege  which 
had  lasted  four  months ;  and  it  must  needs  be  a  great 
displeasure  to  this  Prince,  who  was  brave  and  glorious, 
to  raise  it  on  the  eve  of  the  taking  of  that  great  city, 
the  reduction  of  which  would  have  been  a  mortal 
wound  to  the  League. 

He  had,  therefore,  but  one  course  to  take,  but  which 
was  without  doubt  very  hazardous;  nevertheless,  the 


HENRI  IV.  147 

King  resolved  upon  it.  This  was  to  leave  a  part  of 
his  troops  in  the  suburbs,  and  choose  a  place  of  battle, 
where  the  rest  of  the  army  might  engage  with  the 
Duke  of  Parma,  and  thus  avoid  the  necessity  of  rais- 
ing the  siege.  To  this  effect,  the  King,  confirmed  in 
it  by  the  advice  of  La  None,  Guitry,  and  Du  Plessis 
Mornay,  left  only  three  thousand  men  on  the  side  of 
the  University,  and  put  the  rest  of  his  army  in  battle 
array  in  the  plain  of  Bondy,  which  was  between  Paris 
and  the  Duke  of  Parma. 

But  the  Mar^chal  de  Biron,  disapproving  absolutely 
that  counsel,  prevailed  so  far  that  it  was  resolved  to 
advance  to  Chelles  with  intention  to  give  battle.  It 
was  not  known  whether  he  gave  this  advice  from  jeal- 
ousy, because  he  had  not  given  the  first  counsel,  or 
because  it  seemed  to  him  too  dangerous  to  remain  so 
near  Paris,  whence  there  might  sally  fifteen  or  sixteen 
thousand  men  on  the  day  of  battle  to  charge  them 
behind.  However  this  be,  his  authority  was  so  great 
among  the  men  of  war,  and  it  was  so  dangerous  just 
then  to  contradict  that  hot  spirit,  that  they  were  forced 
to  believe  him,  and  absolutely  raise  the  siege  and  en- 
camp at  Chelles. 

The  Duke  of  Parma  seeing  that,  and  judging  it  not 
convenient  to  fight,  entrenched  himself  readily  in  a 
marsh  so  well  that  he  feared  not  to  be  forced.  He 
boasted,  likewise,  that  tlie  King  should  not  in  that 
position  be  able  to  force  him  to  discharge  one  pistol ; 


148 


HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 


and  yet  that  he  would  take  a  city  then  in  sight,  and 
open  a  passage  on  the  river  to  send  provisions  into 
Paris.  Indeed,  he  executed  to  the  letter  what  he  had 
said.  It  was  not  in  the  power  of  the  King  to  oblige 
him  to  fight;  and  he  took  Lagny  on  the  Marne, 
whilst  the  King  was  not  able  to  relieve  it.  Thus 
Paris  was  effectually  delivered,  receiving  on  the  mor- 
row a  very  large  number  of  boats  laden  with  all  sorts 
of  provisions.  Yet  their  joy  was  not  equal  to  their 
comfort,  for  their  long  continued  misery  had  in  such 
manner  weakened  their  bodies  and  depressed  their 
courage  that  they  were  not  capable  of  any  sentiments 
of  rejoicing. 

The  troops  of  the  Due  de  Nemours,  having  re- 
gained heart  by  the  abundant  food,  sallied  daily  with 
the  most  courageous  of  the  burgesses,  and  cut  off 
all  provisions  from  the  King's  camp  in  such  manner 
that,  there  being  a  little  scarcity  amongst  them,  sick- 
ness began  to  increase,  and  the  gentlemen  who  had 
flocked  thither  in  the  hope  of  a  battle  began  to  grow 
impatient ;  the  King,  seeing  this,  assembled  his  Coun- 
cil to  seek  some  remedy  for  these  straits.  He  found 
that  throughout  his  whole  army  there  were  very  ill 
dispositions,  and  that  he  had  better  retreat  than  ex- 
pose himself  to  greater  affronts.  But  being  loath  to 
quit  the  enterprise  of  Paris,  he  tried  in  passing  to 
carry  it  by  storm  on  the  University  side,  between  the 
gates  of  St.  Jacques  and  St.  Marceau;  which  hav- 


HENRI   IV.  149 

ing  done  in  vain,  he  retired  to  Senlis,  and  thence  to 
Creil.  lu  the  end,  not  being  able  to  do  better,  he 
took  Clermont  and  Beauvais,  which  threatened  Senlis 
and  Compi^g-ne.  Afterwards  he  put  one  part  of  his 
troops  in  the  towns  about  Paris,  sent  another  into  the 
provinces  to  confirm  them  in  their  obedience,  and 
kept  with  himself  only  a  flying  army. 

As  soon  as  he  had  retired,  the  Dukes  of  Parma  and 
Mayenne  spread  their  troops  over  the  Brie.  Parma, 
instantly  solicited  by  the  Leaguers,  besieged  Corbeil. 
He  thought  to  take  it  in  four  or  five  days,  but  he  lay 
before  it  a  whole  month,  through  the  Due  de  Ma- 
yenne's  fault,  who,  either  out  of  neglect  or  jealousy, 
furnished  him  with  ammmiition  only  in  small  quanti- 
ties. So  that,  seeing  his  army  much  diminished,  and 
the  rest  giving  themselves  up  to  all  sorts  of  license 
after  the  example  of  the  French  soldiers,  he  returned 
to  Flanders  much  discontented  with  the  conduct  of 
the  French  nation,  whom  he  had  found,  as  he  said, 
"  inconstant  and  volatile,  full  of  jealousies  and  divi- 
sions, insatiable  and  ungrateful."  His  vexatious 
melancholy  surely  made  him  say  so. 

Before  his  departure  he  heard  with  displeasure  of 
the  loss  of  Corbeil,  which  had  cost  him  so  much. 
Givry,  Governor  of  Brie  for  the  King,  regained  it  in 
one  night  by  storm,  and  the  League,  despite  all  their 
endeavours,  could  not  prevail  upon  the  Duke  of 
Parma  to  stay  in  France  till  they  had  retaken  it.     He 


150  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

left  them  only  eight  thousand  men  of  his,  promising 
to  return  in  the  spring  with  a  greater  army,  and 
counselling  them  in  the  meantime  to  dally  with  the 
King  by  treaties  of  peace  until  the  next  campaign,  — 
a  counsel  which  the  Due  de  Mayemie  was  not  unwill- 
ing to  follow,  and  which  kept  many  towns  to  his 
party  which  were  ready  to  abandon  him. 

The  expedition  of  the  Duke  of  Parma  into  France 
retarded  much  the  affairs  of  the  King,  but  did  not 
advance  those  of  the  Due  de  Mayenne.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  embroiled  them,  and  begat  those  dispositions 
which  in  the  end  ruined  them.  For  the  Duke  of 
Parma,  knowing  the  defects  of  the  Due  de  Mayenne, 
represented  to  the  Council  of  Spain  that  he  was  not  a 
proper  person  for  the  advancement  of  their  interests, 
being  both  too  weak  and  having  too  little  authority 
to  keep  in  unity  so  great  a  party ;  too  jealous,  too 
slow,  and  too  idle  to  attend  to  all  things ;  and  that 
therefore  it  was  necessary  that  the  King  of  Spain 
should  take  care  of  the  League,  and  become  absolute 
master  of  it,  and  that  to  this  effect  he  should  gain 
the  ecclesiastics  and  the  people  of  the  great  cities, 
who,  having  a  great  desire  to  see  the  form  of  the 
government  changed,  because  under  the  last  Kings  it 
had  been  very  oppressive  to  the  people,  would  be 
easily  induced  either  to  join  the  cities  together  in  the 
form  of  cantons,  or  to  make  a  king  whose  power 
should    be    so  limited  that  he   could  never  weaken 


f 


HENRI   IV.  151 

them,  either  by  taxes  or  by  arms,  as  the  two  last 
Kings  had  done. 

The  King  of  Spain,  finding  this  plan  the  more 
agreeable  to  his  designs,  and  thinking  by  it  to  change 
France  into  a  republic,  or  make  a  king  who  should  be 
dependent  upon  him,  considered  no  longer  the  Due  de 
Mayenne  so  much  as  he  had  done,  and  assisted  him 
but  weakly,  but  endeavoured  to  create  factions  among 
the  great  cities,  and  particularly  that  of  the  "  Six- 
teen "  of  Paris,  not  sparing  any  money ;  so  that  many 
believed  that  had  he  expended  such  great  sums  in 
raising  armies  he  might  have  conquered  a  good  part 
of  the  realm. 

Now  our  Henri,  understanding  his  designs,  laboured 
on  his  part  to  frustrate  them.  And  first,  as  to  the 
Due  de  Mayenne,  he  flattered  him  with  kindnesses 
and  much  good  treatment,  which  he  did  for  two 
ends:  to  try  to  win  him  over,  and  to  render  him 
more  suspected  by  the  Spaniards.  He  likewise  en- 
deavoured to  augment  in  him  the  disgust  he  already 
had  for  that  nation,  and  withal  promised  him  great 
advantages  if  he  would  come  to  terms  with  him.  By 
these  means  he  gradually  restrained  him,  cooled  his 
ardour,  and  hindered  him  from  carrying  things  to 
extremities.  And  as  for  the  people,  knowing  that  it 
was  the  ill-government  of  his  predecessor  which  had 
altered  their  affections  and  had  furnished  them  with 
the  pretext  and  occasion  of  the  League  to  raise  their 


152  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

passions,  he  omitted  no  diligence  nor  kindness  which 
might  bring  them  to  their  duty. 

This  good  King  considered  that  to  cure  a  disease  it 
is  necessary  that  the  causes  be  taken  away,  and  that 
to  this  purpose  he  had  only  to  correct  and  sweeten 
the  ill-humours  which  had  put  the  State  into  this  ex- 
tremity. What  he  had  seen  of  it  had  likewise  made 
him  know  that  three  things  principally  had  rendered 
his  predecessor  odious  and  contemptible. 

The  first  was  his  softness  and  faint-heartedness, 
which  made  him,  instead  of  employing  those  fair 
talents  which  God  had  given  him  to  rule  in  his  State 
and  act  in  the  functions  of  a  king,  neglect  to  apply 
himself,  and  not  take  sufficiently  to  heart  the  conduct 
of  his  affairs,  but  addict  himself  wholly  to  his  pleas- 
ures. As  if  royalty,  which  is  the  greatest  and  most 
eminent  of  all  things  here  below,  were  only  a  vain 
diversion,  or  as  if  God  had  made  kings  only  for  the 
love  of  themselves,  and  not  for  his  glory  and  the  com- 
mon good  of  men. 

The  second  was  his  ill-management  and  the  waste 
of  his  revenues,  which  obliged  him  to  seek  extraor- 
dinary and  oppressive  means  to  exact  money.  Now 
he  had  not  only  consumed  his  revenues  by  his  own 
extreme  profuseness  and  by  the  immense  gifts  he 
made  to  his  favourites,  —  a  thing  which  made  the 
people  desperate,  —  but  much  more  by  his  negligence, 
because  he  would  not  give  himself  the  trouble  to  take 


HENRI  IV.  153 

knowledge  of  or  watch  over  those  to  whom  he  en- 
trusted the  administration  of  the  finances,  who,  for- 
getting that  they  were  only  his  dispensers,  became 
prodigal  in  a  thousand  foolish  expenses,  and  distrib- 
uted public  money  to  their  creatures,  as  if  it  were 
their  private  property. 

The  third  was  the  little  belief  they  had  in  his  sin- 
cerity; his  manner  of  acting  with  his  subjects  was 
too  subtle,  too  fine,  and  too  clouded,  so  that  he  had 
always  this  misfortune,  that  they  were  in  continual 
distrust  of  him,  and  his  words  and  actions  seemed 
false,  and  they  thought  they  did  prudently  in  be- 
lieving quite  contrary  to  all  he  would  have  them 
believe. 

Now  our  Henri,  having  known  that  these  ill  ways 
had  conducted  his  predecessor  to  a  precipice,  resolved, 
as  much  from  the  inclination  to  do  good  as  from  good 
policy,  to  follow  paths  quite  contrary. 

First,  he  would  show  to  the  League,  who  disputed 
the  sceptre  with  him,  that  he  was  worthy  to  carry  it ; 
and  therefore  he  acted  continually,  not  only  in  the 
field  and  in  matters  of  war,  but  in  his  cabinet  by  his 
deliberations  of  important  affairs,  by  his  negotiations, 
by  the  order  and  distribution  of  his  revenues,  by  his 
dispensation  of  his  charges  and  employments,  by  his 
knowledge  of  the  principal  laws,  the  order  and  policy 
of  his  realm,  and,  in  fact,  in  all  his  actions,  like  one 
who  does  not  content  himself  with  the  name  of  a 


154  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

king,  but  would  be  king  in  reality.  He  would  have 
faithful  ministers,  but  would  have  no  companions. 
He  committed  to  them  the  care  of  his  affairs  in  such 
a  manner  that  he  still  remained  the  absolute  master 
and  they  the  servants.  He  loved  them  tenderly,  as  it 
was  just,  and  used  a  great  familiarity  with  them,  but 
yet  permitted  them  not  to  be  wanting  either  in  sub- 
mission or  respect.  If  he  took  their  counsel  it  was 
in  the  form  of  advice,  and  he  obliged  them  much 
oftener  by  reason  to  follow  his  than  he  followed  theirs. 
He  honoured  them  with  his  graces  and  with  benefits, 
but  in  proportion  and  measure ;  he  gave  them  not  all 
to  one  alone,  nor  to  two  or  three,  but,  like  a  common 
father,  distributed  his  rewards  to  all  those  he  judged 
worthy.  And  he  desired  them  to  receive  them  from 
his  hands,  and  not  from  others,  for  he  knew  that  to 
give  and  do  good  is  the  most  glorious  attribute  of 
sovereignty,  which  ought  not  to  be  communicated  to 
any  person. 

In  the  second  place,  he  took  most  particular  care 
to  cause  his  revenues  to  be  well  administered,  to  which 
four  motives  obliged  him.  The  first,  because  he  was 
naturally,  though  not  covetous,  yet  a  good  manager, 
and  one  who  hated  profuseness.  The  second,  because 
he  loved  his  people,  and  would  spare  them  as  much  as 
he  possibly  could ;  for  he  made  a  matter  of  conscience 
the  drawing  money  out  of  their  purses  except  upon 
most  necessary  occasions,  and  therefore  he  never  kept 


HENRI  IV.  155 

near  him  any  of  those  blood-suckers  of  the  Court,  who 
draw  all  to  their  coffers  and  who  never  care  whence 
it  comes  so  that  thej  have  it.  The  third,  because  the 
necessity  he  had  often  been  in  had  made  him  know 
the  value  and  need  of  money,  and  that  it  was  good 
to  manage  it  well  because  hard  to  recover.  And  the 
fourth,  because,  not  having  been  brought  up  ignorant 
in  affairs,  as  too  often  princes  are,  he  had  been  well 
informed  that  the  greatest  part  of  those  ills  which  had 
afflicted  France  proceeded  from  the  ill  administration 
of  public  moneys.  And  therefore,  among  all  the  cares 
he  took  to  govern  well  his  States,  he  had  none  greater 
nor  more  continual  than  that  of  ordering  well  his 
revenues  and  of  keeping  them  in  order.  The  super- 
intendents had  confused  and  entangled  them  into  a 
hundred  thousand  knots,  so  that  they  could  neither 
be  loosened  nor  distinguished ;  and  they  so  acted  that 
the  management  of  the  revenue,  as  a  treasurer  of  that 
time  said,  was  a  kind  of  black  art,  where  nothing 
could  be  seen,  so  that  the  goods  of  the  Prince  and 
the  blood  of  the  poor  people  remained  entirely  at  their 
discretion. 

The  revenues  were  at  this  time  under  the  care  of 
a  Norman  gentleman  named  Francois  d'O,  who  had 
been  superintendent  since  the  time  of  Henri  III.  This 
man,  to  speak  the  truth,  was  horribly  prodigal  in  all 
sorts  of  expenses.  His  profuseness  rendered  him  more 
ingenious  and  more  subtle  in  finding  out  new  inven- 


156  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

tions  to  grasp  the  substance  of  the  people,  even  to 
their  very  marrow,  and  to  perplex  more  and  more  the 
order  of  the  revenues,  in  order  that  it  might  not  be 
discovered  what  spoil  he  made.  Now,  though  the 
King  knew  him  for  such  as  he  was,  nevertheless, 
because  he  had  a  strong  cabal  with  the  minions  and 
servants  of  the  late  Henri  III.,  who  acted  the  parts 
of  zealous  Catholics,  he  was  obliged  to  allow  him  to 
remain  in  that  charge,  expecting  when  his  affairs 
were  in  a  better  state  to  be  able  to  give  a  check  to 
his  insatiable  covetousness.  He  little  by  little  him- 
self gained  knowledge  of  the  management  of  his 
moneys,  and  quietly  introduced  some  changes,  now 
by  one  means  and  then  by  another,  so  that  he  knew 
in  time  how  to  bridle  him,  and  simplified  things  in 
such  a  manner  that  he  could  take  but  little  in  com- 
parison with  what  he  had  taken  before. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  relate  with  what  noble- 
ness and  what  freedom  our  Henri  acted  with  all  the 
world.  We  may  see  through  the  whole  course  of  his 
life  that  his  very  enemies  had  more  confidence  in 
his  word  alone  than  in  the  writings  of  all  others.  He 
used  much  prudence  in  all  his  conduct,  but  never 
practised  deceit,  cunning,  nor  artifice.  The  prudent 
man  never  walks  but  by  ways  straight  and  virtuous, 
and  the  cimning  man,  on  the  contrary,  follows  paths 
crooked  and  evil.  The  prudent  man  can  only  be  gen- 
erous and  good,  whilst  the  other  can   only  be  base, 


I 


HENRI   IV.  157 

deceitful,  and  unworthy.  Now,  it  is  certain  that  all 
the  life  of  this  great  King  was  nothing  but  gener- 
osity, goodness,  sweetness,  and  clemency,  and  that  he 
had  a  natural  inclination  to  oblige  all  sorts  of  persons, 
at  least  with  kindnesses,  embraces,  and  sweet  words, 
when  he  had  no  other  means.  He  acknowledged  the 
smallest  services  when  he  could  do  it;  he  showed 
himself  easy  and  affable  to  all  the  world,  familiar 
to  his  soldiers,  compassionate  to  the  country-people, 
so  that  he  would  often  excuse  himself  to  them,  when 
occasion  offered,  for  the  evils  they  suffered,  protest- 
ing that  he  was  not  the  cause  of  them,  but  ardently 
desired  that  peace  which  Jesus  Christ  recommended 
to  Christians,  and  that  it  was  his  enemies  who  forced 
him  to  make  that  war,  which  of  himself  he  detested 
as  the  source  and  fountain  of  all  crime  and  misery. 
There  appeared  in  his  countenance  a  certain  gaiety, 
in  his  discourse  a  vivacity  and  particular  grace  of 
spirit,  and  in  all  his  actions  a  resolution  and  prompti- 
tude which  contented  the  most  disaffected  and  ani- 
mated the  most  indifferent.  Though  he  was  yet  a 
Huguenot,  he  spoke  with  respect  of  the  Pope  and  of  the 
ecclesiastics,  treated  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen  as 
his  companions,  and  flattered  them  with  the  glory  of 
being  the  right  hand  of  his  State  and  the  upholders 
of  the  crown  upon  his  head.  He  scarcely  knew  what 
vengeance  was  ;  his  great  heart  was  without  any  gall ; 
he  pardoned  injuries,  and  likewise  easily  forgot  them, 


158  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

so  long  as  he  knew  that  those  who  had  committed 
them  had  repented  and  were  disposed  to  do  good,  or 
at  least  to  do  no  more  ill.  It  was  with  these  arms 
rather  than  with  the  sword  that  he  vanquished  his 
bitterest  enemies,  that  he  forced  the  most  obstinate 
and  envenomed  hearts  to  love  him,  and  that  of  the 
most  passionate  Leaguers  he  made  his  most  faithful 
servants,  esteeming  it  a  procedure  agreeable  to  the 
grandeur  and  goodness  of  a  sovereign  not  to  lose  those 
he  might  gain,  and  to  withdraw  men  from  their  vices 
rather  than  see  them  sink  under  them.  It  may  thus 
be  seen  how  he  followed  ways  quite  contrary  to  those 
his  predecessor  had  taken. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Duke  of  Parma,  the  two 
parties,  that  of  the  King  and  that  of  the  League,  re- 
mained some  time  in  great  weakness,  and  both  were 
equally  tormented  with  the  mischief  of  divisions  and 
jealousies  ;  but  with  this  difference,  that  those  of  the 
King's  party  were  extinguished  by  his  good  conduct, 
and  those  of  the  League  daily  increased. 

There  was  great  jealousy  between  the  Due  de 
Nemours  and  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  brothers  by 
the  mother's  side.  Nor  was  it  less  between  the 
Due  de  Mayenne  and  the  Due  de  Lorraine ;  and 
much  greater  between  the  latter  and  the  Spaniards, 
who  raised  a  thousand  annoyances  against  him  by 
means  of  the  Sixteen,  for  as  he  could  not  suffer 
them  for  companions,  they  could  not  suffer  him  as 


HENRI  IV.  159 

master,  but  desired  above  all  things  that  the  League 
had  another  chief  than  he. 

In  the  party  of  the  King  there  were  likewise  three 
or  four  factions.  The  first,  of  the  rigid  and  obstinate 
Huguenots,  who  did  not  desire  the  King  to  speak  of 
permitting  himself  to  be  mstructed,  threatening  to 
abandon  him  if  he  thought  of  it,  and  for  this  purpose 
observing  him  continually,  and,  as  it  were,  counting 
all  his  footsteps.  The  second,  that  of  the  Catholics, 
who  were  zealous,  or  who  feigned  to  be  so ;  these 
endeavoured  to  draw  him  from  the  Huguenots,  and 
murmured  when  he  either  gave  them  charges  or 
employments  or  entertained  them  particularly.  The 
third  was  that  of  the  servants  and  courtiers  of  the 
late  King,  whom  the  bearing  of  our  Henri  displeased, 
because  he  did  not  give  them  all  they  wished  and  did 
not  permit  himself  to  be  led  by  their  fancy.  These 
were  for  the  most  part  atheists  and  libertines ;  never- 
theless they  conspired  with  the  Catholics,  and  caused 
much  inquietude  to  the  King. 

Of  these  last  two  factions  joined  together  a  third 
party  was  formed;  Charles,  Cardinal  de  Bourbon, 
who  was  called  Cardinal  de  VendSme  whilst  the 
old  Cardinal  de  Bourbon  lived,  was  the  chief  of  it. 
This  Prince,  vain  and  ambitious,  imagining  that  the 
crown  would  be  conferred  on  him  if  his  cousin  Henri 
TV.  were  excluded,  stirred  up  the  Catholics  to  press 
his  conversion,  from  the  belief  he  had  that,  the  con- 


160  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

science  of  that  King  and  his  affairs  not  being  yet 
disposed  thereto,  he  could  not  hearken  to  them,  and 
would  in  consequence,  by  these  heedless  shifts,  be 
taken  for  an  obstinate  heretic,  and  oblige  the  Cath- 
olics to  abandon  him,  and  afterwards  turn  on  his 
side.  This  faction  was  the  most  dangerous  affair 
that  our  Henri  ever  had  to  deal  with,  though  he 
seemed  to  despise  it,  and  called  those  who  were  of 
it  les  Tiercelets,  or  the  Thirdlings.  It  did  not  come 
to  the  light  with  an  unmasked  face,  nor  ever  openly 
separate  itself  from  the  other ;  yet  because  of  this  it 
was  the  more  to  be  feared.  But  it  produced  in  the 
end  this  good,  that  he  was  constrained  to  permit  him- 
self to  be  instructed  and  thus  wrought  to  his  con- 
version. 

As  for  the  Huguenots,  when  they  saw  that  he  lent 
an  ear  to  the  Catholic  doctors,  they  consulted  among 
themselves,  in  order  that  they  might  entangle  him  so 
that  he  could  not  escape  them,  and  were  of  opinion 
that  they  ought  earnestly  to  solicit  Queen  Elizabeth 
and  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany  to  send  him 
great  forces,  by  whose  help  they  believed  they  might 
overcome  the  League,  after  which  there  was  no  need 
of  his  conversion,  and  in  the  meantime  they  would 
continually  keep  him,  as  it  were,  besieged  by  those 
strange  forces.  Therefore,  Elizabeth,  who  was  zeal- 
ous for  the  Protestant  religion,  interested  herself  very 
strongly  in  the  cause  of  this  King,  generously  assisted 


HENRI   IV.  161 

him,  and  strenuously  solicited  the  German  princes  to 
concur  with  her.^ 

At  the  same  time  the  Huguenots  pressed  him  witli 
all  their  might  to  grant  them  an  edict  for  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion.  Thej  pursued  their  object 
so  strongly  that  he  was  forced  to  accord  it  them,  and 
thej  sent  it  to  the  Parliament  sitting  at  Tours,  but 
they  could  never  get  it  confirmed  by  them  except  with 
these  words :  "  By  proviso  only,"  —  the  Parliament 
thus  showing  as  much  enmity  to  this  false  religion 
as  they  did  to  the  factions  of  the  League. 

During  this  time  Pope  Sixtus  V.  died  (August  27, 
1590),  leaving  in  the  treasury  of  the  Church  five 
millions  of  gold  which  he  had  hoarded  up.  He  was 
much  disgusted  with  the  League,  and  stretched  forth 
his  arms  as  much  as  he  could  to  our  Henri  to  recall 
him  into  the  Church,  whilst  the  League  endeavoured 
to  shut  the  gates  against  him,  that  they  might  exclude 
him  from  his  royalty.  To  Sixtus  Y.  Urban  VII. 
succeeded,  who  held  the  seat  only  thirteen  days ; 
and  to  Urban  succeeded  Gregory  XI Y.,  who,  being 
of  a  violent  spirit  and  a  Spaniard  by  inclination, 
zealously  embraced  the  League,  as  we  shall  see  here- 
after. 

I  silently  pass  over  divers  enterprises  made  by  one 


*  Elizabeth  is  said  to  have  demanded  the  restitution  of  Calais  as  the 
price  for  her  services,  but  Turenne  gave  her  to  understand  that  Henri 
would  ruin  his  cause  by  agreeing.  — Martin's  "  History  of  France." 


162  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

party  and  the  other.  The  Parisians  made  one  upon 
St.  Denis.  The  Chevalier  d'Aumale,  one  of  their 
chiefs,  whom  they  called  the  "  Lion  Rampant  of  the 
League,"  was  killed  in  the  midst  of  the  city  when  he 
had  made  himself  almost  master  of  it.  The  King  on 
his  side  made  another  attempt  upon  Paris.  It  was 
called  the  "  Battle  of  the  Flour,"  because  he  was  to 
surprise  the  city  under  pretext  of  a  convoy  of  flour 
or  meal  carried  thither ;  but  it  was  discovered,  and 
obliged  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  upon  the  vehement  cries 
of  the  Sixteen,  to  receive  four  thousand  Spaniards 
into  the  garrison,  which  retarded  for  more  than  a 
year  the  reduction  of  Paris. 

It  is  necessary  to  understand  that,  neither  party 
having  sufficient  money  to  keep  their  armies  con- 
tinually on  foot,  they  only  made  war  at  intervals. 
When  they  had  been  together  three  months  they 
retired,  and  then  assembled  again,  and,  according  as 
they  were  stronger  or  weaker,  made  their  attacks. 

The  King,  having  drawn  up  his  army,  besieged  the 
city  of  Chartres,  where  La  Bourdaisi^re  commanded. 
There  was  but  a  small  garrison  within  ;  yet  the  siege 
was  long,  difficult,  and  bloody.  Its  length  formed 
a  pretext  to  the  third  party  for  carrying  on  a  number 
of  dangerous  intrigues,  but  the  taking  of  the  city 
repressed  them  for  some  time.  The  King  restored 
the  government  of  Chartres  to  Chiverni,  Chancellor 
of  France,  who  had  held  it  before  the  League  seized  it. 


HENRI   IV.  163 

After  this  the  Duo  de  Mayenne,  who  saw  that  he 
was  in  no  very  good  state,  following  the  counsel  of 
the  Duke  of  Parma,  renewed  a  conference  for  peace, 
which  ended  without  doing  anything,  and  the  Princes 
of  Lorraine  and  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  League 
then  held  a  general  assembly  at  Rheims.  It  was 
resolved  that,  being  altogether  too  weak  to  resist  the 
King,  and  being  in  want  of  money,  they  should  unite 
themselves  more  firmly  with  Spain  than  they  had 
formerly  done ;  and  to  this  effect  they  despatched 
President  Jeannin  to  Philip  II.  This  President  was 
a  man  of  great  ability,  and  a  good  Frenchman,  who 
laboured  for  the  League  and  for  the  Due  de  Mayenne, 
but  who  would  save  the  State  by  saving  the  religion  ; 
so  that,  while  endeavourmg  to  win  over  the  Spaniards, 
he  would  not  serve  them  or  procure  their  advance- 
ment. Yet  we  cannot  doubt  but  that  as  he  had  his 
ends,  they  likewise  had  theirs,  and  that  they  designed 
to  make  good  their  expenses  incurred  for  the  League 
out  of  the  kingdom  of  France. 

The  Spaniard  had  in  this  undertaking  the.  assist- 
ance of  the  new  Pope,  Gregory  XIY.,  who  pressed 
on  even  more  swiftly  and  more  fervently  than  he ; 
for  without  having  regard  either  to  the  letters  which 
M.  de  Luxembourg,  afterwards  Due  de  Piney,  wrote 
to  him  on  the  part  of  the  princes  and  Catholic  nobles 
who  were  in  the  King's  party,  or  to  the  submissions 
and  three  humble  remonstrances  made  him  by  the 


164  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Marquis  de  Pisani,  who  was  there  at  Rome  deputed 
from  them,  he  strenuously  embraced  the  party  of  the 
League,  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  Six- 
teen, receiving  letters  from  them  and  writing  to 
them ;  and,  what  is  more,  he  prodigally  wasted  that 
treasure  which  Sixtus  V.  had  heaped  up,  to  raise  an 
army  of  twelve  thousand  men,  giving  the  command 
to  Count  Hercules  Sfondrato,  his  nephew,  whom  he 
made  expressly  Duke  of  Montmarcian,  to  authorise 
him  the  more  by  this  new  title.  He  accompanied 
this  army  with  a  monition  or  bull  of  excommunica- 
tion against  the  prelates  who  followed  the  King,  and 
sent  it  by  Marcelin  Landriauo,  his  nuncio,  with  a 
great  quantity  of  silver  to  the  Sixteen,  to  be  distrib- 
uted among  them  and  the  chiefs  of  the  cabals  in 
the  great  cities. 

The  Parliament  at  Tours  having  heard  of  this 
monition,  caused  it  to  be  torn  by  the  hand  of  the 
common  scavenger,  and  issued  a  decree  against  the 
nuncio.  That  at  Paris,  on  the  contrary,  annulled 
that  decree,  as  being,  they  said,  ordered  by  persons 
without  power,  and  commanded  that  the  Holy  Father 
and  his  nuncio  should  be  obeyed. 

After  all,  these  bulls  produced  no  great  effect  at 
present,  and  the  Cardinal  de  Bourbon  strove  in  vain 
to  make  the  assembly  of  the  clergy  which  was  held 
at  Chartres  declare  against  the  decree  at  Tours.  Nor 
did  the  army  of  the  Pope  do  any  great  exploits,  but 


HENRI   IV.  165 

was  almost  entirely  dispersed  before  it  could  render 
any  service. 

The  same  fate  did  not  await  those  troops  the  King 
had  caused  to  be  raised  in  Germany  by  the  Vicomte 
de  Turenne.  They  served  the  King  well  in  his 
affairs,  and  gained  him  notable  advantages.  As  a 
recompense  he  honoured  this  nobleman  with  the  staff 
of  Marshal  of  Prance,  to  render  him  the  more  capa- 
ble to  espouse  Charlotte  de  la  Marck,  Duchesse  de 
Bouillon  and  sovereign  lady  of  Sedan,  who,  although 
a  Huguenot,  had  been  eagerly  sought  after,  both  by 
friendship  and  force,  by  the  Due  de  Lorraine,  who 
desired  to  marry  her  to  his  eldest  son,  the  Marquis 
du  Pont.  The  King  made  this  match  to  oppose  a 
man  to  the  Due  de  Lorraine,  who  helped  to  sustain 
the  League.  The  new  Marshal  soon  justified  the 
King's  favour  by  having,  among  other  fair  exploits, 
surprised  Stenay  the  night  preceding  his  nuptials. 

The  King  had  another  great  captain  in  the  Dau- 
phinate,  this  being  Lesdiguieres,  who  held  that  coun- 
try, having  reduced  the  city  of  Grenoble,  and  who 
saved  Provence  for  him,  which  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
thought  of  seizing  and  dismembering  from  the  Crown. 
This  Duke  being  son-in-law  to  Philip  II.,  King  of 
Spain,  the  power  of  his  father-in-law  had  raised  his 
ambition  and  courage  and  made  him  forget  that  con- 
stant affection  which  his  predecessors  have  almost 
continuously  had  for  France,  inasmuch  as  they  have 


166  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

considered  themselves  much  honom-ed  to  be  pensioners 
to  our  kings.  But  the  conduct  and  valour  of  Lesdi- 
guieres  made  him  repent  of  all  his  high  designs, 
especiallj  by  the  battle  of  Esparon  de  Palieres  and  of 
Pont-Charra,  where  that  Duke  sustained  as  much  loss 
as  confusion. 

About  this  time  our  Henri  conceived  a  passion  for 
the  fair  Gabrielle  d'Estr^es,  who  was  of  a  very  noble 
house ;  and  that  passion,  by  degrees,  grew  so  strong 
that  whilst  she  lived  she  held  the  principal  place  in 
his  heart,  so  that,  after  having  had  by  her  three  or  four 
children,  he  had  almost  resolved  to  marry  her,  though 
he  knew  not  how  to  do  it,  except  by  hazarding  great 
troubles  and  very  dangerous  difficulties.  Having 
taken  the  city  of  Noyon,  he  gave  the  government  of  it 
to  the  Comte  d'Estr^es,  father  of  this  fair  one,  and 
shortly  after  gave  him  also  the  post  of  Grand  Master 
of  the  Artillery,  which  had  been  held  by  Jean  d'Estrees 
in  the  year  1550. 

Not  long  after  the  siege  of  Noyon,  he  heard  of  the 
escape  of  the  Due  de  Guise,  who,  after  many  other 
attempts,  had,  in  broad  daylight,  got  out  of  the  castle 
of  Tours,  where  he  had  been  imprisoned  since  his 
father's  death.  The  news  at  first  no  less  touched  the 
King  than  it  surprised  him.  He  feared  this  great 
name  of  Guise,  which  had  given  him  so  much  trouble ; 
and  he  feared  lest  this  young  Prince  should  reengross 
the  love  of  the  people,  which  his  father  had  possessed 


HENRI   IV.  167 

to  so  great  an  extent.  He  was  troubled  to  have  lost 
such  a  pledge,  who  might  have  served  him  in  many- 
things.  However,  after  he  had  meditated  a  little, 
his  apprehensions  diminished,  and  he  told  those  who 
were  about  him  that  he  had  more  reason  to  rejoice 
than  to  be  troubled,  for  it  must  perforce  happen  that 
either  the  Due  de  Guise  must  take  his  party  —  and 
if  he  did  so  he  would  treat  him  as  his  parent  and 
kinsman  —  or  that  he  must  cast  himself  into  the 
League ;  and  then  it  would  be  impossible  that  the 
Due  de  Mayenne  and  he  could  continue  any  long  time 
without  contending  and  becoming  enemies. 

This  prognostication  was  very  true.  The  Due  de 
Mayenne,  having  seen  those  rejoicings  which  all  the 
League  testified  at  this  news,  the  bonfires  made  in  the 
great  cities,  the  thanks  which  the  Pope  caused  pub- 
licly to  be  rendered  to  God,  and  the  hopes  which  the 
Sixteen  conceived  of  seeing  revived  in  this  Prince  the 
protection  and  qualities  of  his  father,  whom  they  had 
idolised,  —  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  I  say,  seeing  all  this, 
was  filled  with  a  very  powerful  jealousy ;  and  though 
he  sent  him  money,  with  entreaties  that  they  might 
have  an  interview,  yet  notwithstanding  he  did  not 
look  upon  him  as  a  new  reinforcement,  but  rather  as 
a  new  subject  of  inquietude  and  trouble  to  himself. 

This  young  Prince  immediately  knit  himself  in  firm 
bond  with  the  Sixteen,  and  promised  to  place  himself 
imder  their  protection.     By  this  means,  and  by  the 


168  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

help  of  the  Spaniards,  they  were  emboldened  so  much 
that  they  resolved  to  get  rid  of  the  Due  de  Mayenne, 
not  ceasing  to  cry  down  his  conduct  among  the  people. 
I  have  been  assured  that  there  were  some  amongst 
them  who  wrote  a  letter  to  thft  King  of  Spain,  by 
which  they  cast  themselves  into  his  arms,  and  en- 
treated him,  if  he  would  not  reign  over  them,  to  give 
them  a  king  of  his  race,  or  to  choose  a  son-in-law  for 
his  daughter,  whom  they  would  receive  with  all  obedi- 
ence and  fidelity.  They  decided,  besides  this,  to  make 
a  new  form  of  oath  for  the  League,  which  excluded 
the  Princes  of  the  blood,  in  order  that  they  might 
oblige  all  suspected  persons  who  would  not  swear  a 
thing  so  contrary  to  their  thoughts  to  depart  out  of 
the  city,  and  to  abandon  their  goods  to  them.  By 
this  artifice  they  drove  away  many  persons,  among 
others,  the  Cardinal  de  Gonde,  Bishop  of  Paris,  whom 
they  had  begun  to  hate,  because,  with  some  clergy  of 
the  city,  he  honestly  endeavoured  to  dispose  the 
people  in  favour  of  the  King. 

There  remained  nothing  now  but  to  dissolve  the 
Parliament,  who  watched  them  day  and  night,  and 
stopped  their  undertakings.  They  had  condemned  a 
man  named  Brigard  because  he  had  correspondence 
with  the  royalists ;  and  the  Parliament  having  par- 
doned him,  they  were  so  incensed  that  the  most  pas- 
sionate, by  conspiracy  amongst  themselves  and  by 
their  private  authority,  having  caused  those  of  their 


HENRI   IV.  169 

faction  to  take  arms,  went  to  seize  on  the  persons  of 
the  President,  De  Brisson,  and  of  De  Larcher  and 
Tardiff,  councillors,  whom  they  carried  prisoners  to 
the  Chttelet ;  and  after  some  formalities,  onfe  of  the 
League  pronounced  against  them  the  sentence  of 
death,  in  execution  of  which  they  caused  them  all 
three  to  be  hanged  at  the  window  of  the  chamber 
(November  15,  1591),  and  on  the  morrow  to  be  car- 
ried to  the  Gr^ve,^  that  the  sight  of  them  might  move 
the  people  to  favour  the  League ;  but  the  greater  part 
abhorred  so  damnable  an  outrage,  and  even  the  most 
zealous  of  the  party  remained  mute,  not  knowing 
whether  they  ought  to  approve  or  blame  it. 

Yet  there  were  some  of  these  Sixteen  found  so  de- 
termined as  to  go  farther.  They  said  they  must  finish 
the  tragedy,  and  rid  themselves  of  the  Due  de  Ma- 
yenne  if  he  came  to  Paris,  he  being  at  present  at  Laon ; 
that  after  that  they  might  assure  to  themselves  the 
city,  elect  a  chief  who  should  be  dependent  upon 
them,  reestablish  the  Council  of  Forty,  which  that 
Duke  had  abolished,  and  demand  the  union  of  the 
great  cities.  And  certainly  there  was  some  appear- 
ance that,  having  the  Bastille,  of  which  Bussy  was 
governor,  and  having  the  common  people  and  the 
garrison  of  Spaniards  for  them,  they  might  render 
themselves  masters  of  Paris,  and  afterwards  treat  at 
their    pleasure,    either    with    the    King,   the  Due  de 

*  Formerly  the  public  place  of  execution  in  Paris. 


170  HISTORIC    COUET   MEMOIRS. 

Guise,  or  the  Spaniards ;  but  they  wanted  resolution. 
In  the  meantime  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  having  been 
two  days  in  doubt  whether  he  should  come  to  Paris, 
because  he  feared  they  would  shut  the  gates  against 
him,  at  length  came  with  a  warlike  attendance ;  and 
feeling  that  the  Parliament  durst  not  attempt  to  take 
steps  to  punish  these  people,  he  resolved,  whatever 
might  happen,  to  chastise  them  himself,  and  there- 
upon, without  legal  formalities,  condemned  nine  to 
death.  They  could  catch  only  four,  whom  he  caused 
to  be  hanged  in  the  Louvre ;  the  other  five  saved 
themselves  by  escaping  to  Flanders.  The  most  re- 
markable of  these  five  was  Bussy  le  Clerc,  who  had 
been  constrained  to  yield  the  Bastille  to  the  Duke's 
people.  He  was  known  to  be  leading  a  miserable  life 
in  the  city  of  Brussels  ;  yet  still  he  preserved  his 
hatred  for  the  French,  even  to  the  last  gasp,  which  he 
breathed  forth  a  little  before  the  last  declaration  of 
war  between  the  two  Crowns. 

This  terrible  blow  having  quite  quelled  the  faction 
of  the  Sixteen,  the  Duke  made  four  presidents  of  Par- 
liament, there  being  then  none  at  all,  for  De  Brisson 
had  alone  remained,  the  rest  being  gone  to  Tours. 
But  he  demonstrated  by  this  that  he  did  not  well 
understand  his  own  interests,  for,  in  my  opinion, 
it  is  impossible  that  the  Parliament  and  the  nobility 
should  remain  separate  from  the  King  for  any  length 
of  time ;  nor  can  the  force  of  a  party  opposed  to  roy- 


HENRI   IV.  171 

alty  consist  but  in  two  things:  the  people,  or  the 
soldiery. 

As  soon  as  the  King  had  received  the  aid  of  Eng- 
land and  that  of  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany, 
he  besieged  the  city  of  Rouen.  This  was  one  of  the 
most  memorable  sieges  of  that  time.  Yillars,  a  pro- 
vincial gentleman,  who  was  governor,  did  wonderful 
actions.  The  Duke  of  Parma  came  to  his  assistance, 
having  for  that  purpose  joined  the  Due  de  Mayenne ; 
but  Villars,  who  feared  that  they  would  not  come  in 
time,  and  likewise  that  the  Due  de  Mayenne  would 
deprive  him  of  his  government  if  allowed  to  enter  his 
city  with  a  force  superior  to  his  own,  endeavoured  to 
relieve  himself,  and  by  a  sally,  which  might  almost 
be  called  a  battle,  drove  the  besiegers  a  good  distance 
from  the  walls.  The  Dukes,  seeing  that,  and  that  he 
was  no  longer  pressed,  retired,  and  Parma  lodged  his 
troops  about  Rue  in  Ponthieu.  But  two  months 
after,  Villars  wanting  victuals,  and  the  courage  of 
the  burgesses  slackening,  he  was  constrained  to  write 
to  the  Dukes  asking  them  to  make  haste  to  come  and 
relieve  him.  The  Dukes,  on  receipt  of  so  pressing  a 
request,  reassembled  their  troops  in  one  day,  recrossed 
the  Somme,  and,  marching  without  baggage,  came 
more  than  thirty  leagues  in  four  days,  though  they 
had  on  their  way  four  rivers  to  cross. 

Having  arrived  within  a  league  of  Rouen,  they 
drew  up  in  battle  array  in  a  valley  on  the  side    of 


172  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Dernetal.  The  King,  who  had  gone  to  Dieppe,  find- 
ing on  his  return  his  army  too  much  weakened  to 
resist  those  within  and  without,  raised  the  siege,  to 
his  great  discontent,  and  having  waited  at  a  league's 
distance  for  twelve  months  in  battle  array,  he  after- 
wards retired  to  Pont  de  I'Arche.  It  was  held  by 
many  that  had  they  pursued  him  he  could  only  with 
difificulty  have  shunned  a  battle.  But  the  Due  de 
Mayenne,  either  on  account  of  the  jealousy  he  had 
of  the  Duke  of  Parma,  or  for  other  reasons,  was 
obstinately  of  opinion  that  it  was  necessary  to  take 
Caudebec,  to  open  the  mouth  of  the  Seine,  and  bring 
provisions  to  Rouen.  The  Duke  of  Parma  was  forced 
to  yield  to  his  advice.  They  took  Caudebec  in 
twenty-four  hours ;  but  Parma  was  wounded  in  the 
arm  with  a  musket-shot,  and  some  days  after  the  Due 
de  Mayenne  fell  sick,  so  that  both  generals  were  at 
one  time  in  their  litters. 

In  the  meantime,  in  five  or  six  days,  the  army  of 
the  King  was  increased  by  three  thousand  horse  and 
six  thousand  infantry,  which  flocked  to  his  assistance 
from  the  adjacent  provinces,  so  that  he  was  stronger 
than  his  enemies  by  nearly  five  thousand  men.  Now 
that  fortune  had  turned,  he  went  after  them,  and  shut 
them  up  near  Yvetot,  cutting  off  all  provisions  from 
them,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  dislodge  by  night 
and  encamp  near  Caudebec.  The  two  generals  being 
still  in  bed  and  their  troops  very  much  amazed,  the 


HENRI  rV.  173 

Mar^chal  de  Biron  beat  up  one  quarter,  and  in  the 
end  defeated  their  light  horse.  The  King's  infantry 
prepared  at  the  same  time  to  charge  the  Walloon  foot, 
which  without  doubt,  in  the  fear  they  were  in,  would 
have  demanded  quarter  ;  but  Biron  called  them  back, 
for  fear,  he  said,  lest  they  should  engage  themselves 
between  two  quarters  of  the  enemy.  It  was  believed 
he  did  this  that  he  might  not  finish  the  war,  where  he 
had  the  principal  command.  And  we  have  a  sufficient 
proof  of  it  at  another  time.  The  Baron  de  Biron,  his 
son,  who  was  likewise  afterwards  marshal,  having  de- 
manded of  him  five  hundred  horse  and  as  many  drag- 
oons to  go  and  invest  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  who  was 
as  it  were  in  a  trap,  the  father,  seeing  that  this  enter- 
prise was  infallible,  regarded  him  with  an  angry  look, 
and  said  to  him,  with  an  oath,  "  How  now,  villain, 
wouldst  thou  have  us  sent  to  plant  cabbages  at  Bi- 
ron ?  "  1  Hence  we  may  know  how  wars  come  to  be 
of  such  continuance,  it  being  to  the  interest  of  their 
chiefs  to  prolong  them,  because  they  find  in  them 
their  advantage,  in  the  same  manner  as  lawyers  do 
theirs  in  retarding  a  process. 

Some  days  after,  the  Duke  of  Parma,  being  recov- 
ered, called  to  mind  all  those  inventions  and  strata- 
gems which  he  had  learnt  by  a  long  experience  and 
by  profound  meditation  to  extricate  himself  from  his 

1  A  French  proverb,  as  if  to  say, "  Wouldst  thou  have  me  ruin  my  own 
fortune?" 


174  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

difficulties.  He  found  in  the  end  no  other  way  than 
to  pass  the  river  and  retreat  in  all  haste  towards 
Paris.  For  this  purpose  he  caused  two  forts  to  be 
built,  directly  opposite  to  each  other,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Seine,  with  redoubts  which  commanded  the  water, 
and  greater  ones  on  the  outside,  which  looked  towards 
the  army  of  the  King.  Under  the  protection  of  these 
forts  he  succeeded  in  passing,  one  dark  night,  all  his 
baggage,  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery  over  bridges 
of  boats,  covered  with  planks  which  he  had  had  sent 
from  Rouen,  whilst  the  King,  who  had  perceived  it 
too  late,  could  not  hinder  him.  As  soon  as  he  had 
crossed  he  took  his  march  by  the  plains  of  Neuf- 
bourg,  and  made  such  haste  that  in  four  days  he 
arrived  at  Charenton,  not  having  been  able  to  sleep 
(as  he  himself  avowed  afterwards)  till  he  had  come 
into  Brie. 

Afterwards  he  led  back  his  troops  to  the  Low  Coun- 
tries covered  with  glory,  having  for  the  second  time 
made  a  great  king  raise  his  siege  when  there  was 
least  apparent  likelihood  of  it,  and  having  in  his  sight, 
deceiving  his  vigilance  and  diligence,  crossed  a  great 
river,  or  rather  arm  of  the  sea,  without  his  being  able 
to  assault  him. 

This  action  was  so  gallant  that  our  Henri  could 
not  refrain  from  wondering  at  it,  esteeming  it  more 
glorious  than  the  winning  of  two  battles,  acknowledg- 
ing that  the  chief  work  of  a  great  captain  was  not  so 


HENRI  IV.  175 

much  to  fight  or  overcome  as  to  do  what  he  desires 
without  hazarding  a  combat. 

We  must  not  forget  how,  the  first  time  that  the 
Duke  of  Parma  advanced  to  the  relief  of  Rouen,  the 
King  went  to  meet  him  with  a  part  of  his  army  as  far 
as  Aumale,  so  as  to  hinder  him  in  passing  that  little 
river,  as  well  as  take  notice  of  him ;  and  how,  with 
four  or  five  hundred  carabineers  only,  he  stopped  for 
a  long  time  all  the  enemy's  army  by  three  or  four  vig- 
orous charges.  The  Duke  of  Parma  did  not  believe 
that  the  King  was  there,  not  judging  that  he  would 
hazard  his  person  in  so  dangerous  a  post  and  with  so 
few  forces  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  knew  he  was  present,  he 
caused  all  his  carabineers  to  give  the  charge,  sustained 
by  his  light  horsemen.  The  King,  seeing  his  men  so 
pressed,  made  two  vigorous  charges,  during  which 
they  drew  forth  the  greater  part  of  the  baggage  out  of 
the  town  ;  but  all  the  body  of  the  Duke's  cavalry  com- 
ing on,  the  King  lost  many  of  his  men,  and  himself 
ran  great  danger  of  being  slain  or  taken  prisoner ; 
but  God  permitted  him  to  be  wounded  only  by  a  pis- 
tol-shot in  the  loins,  which  would  have  been  mortal  if 
the  bullet  had  had  more  force,  but  it  pierced  only  his 
clothes  and  his  shirt,  and  somewhat  grazed  the  skin. 
His  valour  and  his  good  fortune  equally  contributed  to 
draw  him  out  of  this  peril,  and  to  bring,  after  so  sharp 
a  check,  both  his  person  and  what  remained  of  his 
troops  into  safety. 


176  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  Duke  of  Parma  admired  this  action,  but  praised 
the  courage  which  our  Henri  had  testified  more  than 
his  prudence ;  for  when  he  was  asked  what  he  thought 
of  this  retreat,  he  said,  that  indeed  it  was  very  gallant, 
but  for  his  part  he  would  never  bring  himself  into  a 
place  where  he  should  be  forced  to  retire.  This  was 
tacitly  to  say  that  a  prince  and  a  general  ought  to 
secure  themselves  better.  And  so  all  the  King's 
faithful  servants  came  the  same  evening  to  entreat 
him  to  spare  his  person,  on  which  the  safety  of 
France  depended.  And  the  Queen  of  England,  his 
most  faithful  friend,  prayed  him  to  preserve  himself, 
and  at  least  keep  within  the  duties  of  a  great  captain, 
who  ought  only  to  come  to  blows  himself  in  the  last 
extremity. 

After  the  raising  of  the  siege  of  Rouen  the  greater 
part  of  the  King's  army  passed  into  Champagne  in 
pursuit  of  the  Duke  of  Parma,  and  laid  siege  to  the 
city  of  Epernay  and  took  it.  The  Mar^chal  de  Biron 
was  killed  by  a  cannon  shot,  which  carried  away  his 
head  as  he  was  viewing  the  place  (July  26,  1592). 
His  eldest  son,  who  was  named  the  Baron  de  Biron, 
as  great  a  captain  as  the  father  and  much  loved  by 
the  King,  was  shortly  after  honoured  with  the  same 
office  of  Marshal  of  France ;  but  he  lost  his  head 
somewhat  less  gloriously  than  his  father.^ 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  and   the   Duke   of   Parma 

*  He  waa  decapitated  at  the  Bastille  on  July  31, 1602. 


HENRI   IV.  177 

having  parted  ill  satisfied  with  one  another,  it  was 
not  difficult  to  renew  the  conferences  between  the 
former  and  the  royalists.  However,  things  were  not 
yet  ripe.  There  were  some  seeds  sown,  which  for 
some  time  after  brought  forth  fruit,  for  the  King  con- 
sented that  he  would  within  six  months  permit  him- 
self to  be  instructed  by  those  means  which  might  not 
wrong  either  his  honour  or  his  conscience.  He  gave 
leave  likewise  to  the  Catholic  nobles  of  his  party  to 
depute  some  of  themselves  to  the  Pope,  to  let  him 
understand  the  duties  he  applied  himself  to,  and  to 
entreat  him  to  add  his  authority,  and  that  in  the 
meantime  peace  should  be  daily  treated  of. 

The  Due  de  Mayenne  and  his  party  demanded 
very  advantageous  conditions ;  but  they  could  not 
well  be  rejected,  for,  to  speak  the  truth,  many  things 
at  this  time  did  much  trouble  our  Henri.  That 
which  most  of  all  perplexed  him  was  that  the  Due  de 
Mayenne,  violently  pressed  by  the  instances  of  the 
Pope  and  the  King  of  Spain,  by  the  remonstrances  of 
those  great  cities  which  supported  his  cause,  and  like- 
wise by  the  necessity  of  his  affairs,  had  called  the 
States  General  to  Paris  to  proceed  to  the  nomination 
of  a  king. 

Now  this  nomination  would  have  been  the  un- 
doubted ruin  of  France,  and  would  possibly  have 
caused  the  absolute  expulsion  of  our  Henri ;  for  there 
was   much    appearance    and  likelihood  that  all    the 


178  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Catholic  potentates  of  Christendom  would  have  ac- 
knowledged that  king  whom  the  Estates  had  elected, 
that  the  clergy  would  have  done  the  like,  and  that 
the  nobility  and  people,  who  only  followed  our  Henri 
because  he  had  the  title  of  King,  would  not  have 
scrupled  to  quit  him  for  another  to  whom  the  Estates 
had  granted  it. 

To  the  end,  therefore,  that  he  might  hinder  this 
mortal  blow,  he  wisely  decided  to  propose  a  conference 
of  the  noblemen  in  his  party  with  these  preten- 
tious Estates.  The  Due  de  Mayenne  was  well  con- 
tent with  this  expedient,  because  he  saw  well  that 
the  King  of  Spain  desired  that  he  who  was  elected 
should  espouse  his  daughter,  Isabella  Clara  Eugenia, 
and  thus  the  election  could  not  fall  upon  him,  since 
he  was  married  and  had  children ;  but  likewise,  out 
of  fear  lest  they  should  hearken  to  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  our  Henri,  he  secretly  stirred  up  some  di- 
vines to  say  that  this  conference  with  a  heretic  was 
unlawful ;  and  by  virtue  of  this  advice  he  wrought  in 
such  manner  that  the  Estates  agreed  they  would  not 
confer  with  him,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  touch- 
ing his  establishment  or  the  doctrine  of  the  faith,  but 
that  they  would  confer  with  the  Catholics  among  his 
party,  for  the  good  of  religion  and  the  public  repose. 

The  legate,  knowing  well  what  this  would  come  to, 
endeavoured  with  all  his  power  to  hinder  the  effect  of 
this  decision  of  the  Estates,  but  in  the  end  he  was 


HENRI  IV.  179 

constrained  to  lend  his  hand  to  it.  The  conference 
was  then  decided  on,  and  the  deputies  of  both  sides 
assembled  at  the  borough  of  SurSnes,  near  Paris. 

The  Estates  were  assembled  in  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, in  the  year  1593,  and  sat  in  the  great  hall  of 
the  Louvre.  There  were  a  few  noblemen,  a  great 
following  of  prelates,  and  a  sufficient  number  of 
deputies  of  the  Third  Estate,  but  for  the  most  part 
creatures  of  the  Due  de  Mayenne  or  paid  by  the 
King  of  Spain.  This  Prince,  desiring  at  any  price 
to  have  the  crown  for  his  daughter,  intended  to  send 
a  powerful  army  into  France,  which  should  hasten 
the  resolutions  of  the  Estates ;  but  happily  for  our 
Henri,  the  incomparable  Duke  of  Parma  was  dead, 
and  the  Spaniard  had  not  in  the  Low  Countries  any 
captains  capable  of  great  things.  Count  Mansfield 
was  given  the  command  of  the  troops,  and  the  Due 
de  Mayenne  went  to  meet  him.  They  retook  Noyon, 
but  that  was  all.  Afterwards  they  melted  away  and 
became  so  weak  that,  not  daring  to  pass  any  farther, 
they  returned  into  Flanders,  where  Prince  Maurice 
of  Nassau  found  them  sufficient  employment. 

During  the  siege  of  Noyon  the  young  Biron,  upon 
whom  the  King  had  recently  bestowed  the  office  of 
admiral,  surrendered  by  the  Due  d'Epernon  in  ex- 
change for  the  government  of  Provence,  had  besieged 
Selles  in  Berry,  so  as  to  take  that  thorn  out  of  the 
foot  of  the  city  of  Tours.     The  King,  perceiving  that 


180  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

this  paltry  town  took  him  too  long  a  time,  had  called 
him  thence  to  go  and  relieve  Noyon,  which,  however, 
he  was  afraid  to  attempt.  These  little  disasters 
wonderfully  encouraged  the  hearts  of  the  King's 
enemies,  cooled  his  friends,  and  emboldened  the 
faction.  The  third  party,  who  had  kept  under  cover, 
now  began  to  move,  and  likewise  a  report  spread  that 
there  were  some  Catholics  who  had  conspired  to  seize 
the  person  of  the  King  in  Mantes,  under  pretence  of 
snatching  him  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Huguenots,  and 
carry  him  to  mass  whether  he  wished  it  or  not.  He 
was  so  much  alarmed  at  it,  or  feigned  to  be  so, 
that  he  took  the  field,  gathered  together  his  surest 
friends,  and  caused  the  English  forces  to  come  and 
lodge  in  the  suburbs  of  Limay. 

At  the  same  time  the  Duke  of  Feria,  ambassador 
from  the  King  of  Spain  to  the  States  General,  arrived 
at  Paris.  He  presented  to  them  a  very  civil  letter  on 
the  part  of  his  master,  and  made  them  a  long  speech, 
in  which  he  exhorted  them  to  expedite  the  naming  of 
a  king,  offering  them  all  assistance  both  of  men  and 
money.  In  fact,  the  King  of  Spain  passionately  de- 
sired the  choosing  of  one,  because,  as  we  have  said, 
he  wished  to  give  him  in  marriage  his  daughter 
Isabella,  whom  he  dearly  loved. 

It  was  therefore  now  time  that  our  Henri  should 
either  publish  to  the  world  that  he  would  persevere 
in  his  religion  without  wavering,  in  which  case  he 


HENRI   IV.  181 

must  resolve  on  a  ^'ar  of  which  possibly  he  might 
never  see  the  end,  or  that  he  should  return  into  the 
bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  Leaguers  who  faTOured  Spain  feared  above 
all  things  this  change,  which  would  take  from  them 
all  pretext;  the  good  Catholics  ardently  wished  it, 
— they  only  feared  lest  his  conversion  should  be 
feigned ;  the  rigid  Huguenots  endeavoured  to  divert 
him,  threatening  him  with  the  judgments  of  God 
if  he  abandoned,  they  said,  the  evangelical  truth. 
But  all  politicians,  both  of  the  one  and  the  other 
religion,  counselled  him  not  to  delay  it.  They  told 
him  that  of  all  artillery,  the  canon  of  the  mass  would 
prove  best  to  reduce  the  cities  of  his  kingdom  ;  they 
besought  him  to  avail  himself  of  it,  and  to  their 
prayers  they  added  threats  of  abandoning  him  and 
of  withdrawing  from  his  service,  being  wearied  with 
consuming  themselves  in  his  interests  for  the  caprice 
of  some  obstinate  preaching  ministers,  who  hindered 
him  from  embracing  the  religion  of  his  predecessors. 

Besides  these  human  motives,  God,  who  is  never 
wanting  to  those  who  seek  him  with  submission, 
cleared  his  understanding  with  his  holy  light,  and 
rendered  him  capable  to  receive  the  saving  instruc- 
tions of  the  Catholic  prelates.  This  resolution  taken, 
he  immediately  gave  notice  of  it  to  the  deputies  of 
the  League  in  the  conference  of  Surenes.  It  cannot 
be  imagined  how  great  was  their  astonishment,  nor 


182  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

how  the  Due  de  Majenne  was  surprised,  for  they  least 
of  all  expected  to  hear  this  news. 

The  Spaniards  and  the  legate,  having  advice  that 
he  was  about  to  turn  convert,  pressed  the  Estates 
more  vehemently  to  elect  a  King ;  and  seeing  that 
the  French  would  not  accept  any  but  one  of  their 
own  nation,  they  proposed  that  their  King  should 
name  a  French  prince,  who  should  reign  wholly  and 
individually  with  the  Infanta  Isabella. 

When  the  Parliament  understood  this,  and  that  the 
Estates  were  not  averse  to  this  proposition,  that  great 
body,  though  captive  and  dismembered,  remembering 
its  ancient  vigour,  ordained  that  remonstrances  should 
be  made  to  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  that  he  should  main- 
tain the  fundamental  laws  of  the  State,  and  that  he 
should  hinder  the  crown,  the  lieutenancy  of  which 
was  committed  to  him,  from  being  transferred  to 
strangers ;  moreover,  declaring  null  all  treaties  made 
or  about  to  be  made  which  should  be  contrary  to  the 
law  of  the  State. 

It  was  suspected  that  this  decree  was  made  by  col- 
lusion with  the  Due  de  Mayenne ;  but  Yilleroy,  the 
greatest  statesman  of  the  kingdom,  gave  testimony  on 
behalf  of  the  Parliament  that  it  took  the  counsel  from 
himself,  "  having  no  other  motives  than  those  of 
honour  and  duty,  as  persons  who  would  choose  rather 
to  lose  their  lives  than  be  wanting  either  in  the  one 
or  the  other,  by  conniving  at  the  overthrow  of  the 


HENRI   IV.  183 

laws  of  the  realm,  of  which  by  their  institution  they 
are  protectors,  and  obliged  to  maintain  them  by  the 
oath  given  them  at  their  reception."  These  words 
are  all  very  memorable. 

The  vigour  of  this  decree  made  all  those  good 
Frenchmen  who  were  in  Paris,  and  in  the  Estates, 
take  heart;  and  at  the  same  time  the  taking  of 
Dreux,  which  the  King's  army  forced,  caused  great 
astonishment  among  the  most  ardent  of  the  Leaguers. 
Nevertheless,  the  Spaniards  did  not  cease  to  pursue 
their  design.  The  Due  de  Mayemie,  thinking  to  stop 
their  course,  made  excessive  demands  before  any 
progress  should  be  made  towards  the  election  of  a 
king ;  but  that  they  might  come  to  their  point  they 
granted  him  all,  and  in  the  end  they  declared  that 
their  King  would  name  to  the  Estates  the  Due  de 
Guise,  to  whom  he  would  give  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage, together  with  all  forces  necessary  to  assure  him 
of  the  crown,  if  they  found  it  convenient  to  give  him 
their  suffrages  and  elect  him. 

Never  was  man  more  astonished  than  the  Due  de 
Mayemie  when  he  saw  that  he  would  be  constrained 
to  obey  his  nephew  and  that  his  authority  must  end. 
His  wife,  yet  more  impatient  than  he,  could  not 
refrain  from  making  her  spite  and  jealousy  apparent, 
and  rather  than  suffer  that  they  should  confer  the 
crown  on  this  young  Prince,  she  counselled  her  hus- 
band to  make  peace  with  the  King  at  any  price  what- 


184 


HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 


soever.  He  was,  in  fact,  resolved  to  do  anything 
rather  than  raise  his  nephew  above  himself,  and 
therefore  he  employed  all  sorts  of  means  to  hinder 
him,  and  to  this  purpose  concluded  a  truce  with  the 
King,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  legate 
and  the  Spaniards. 

In  pursuance  of  this  truce,  the  King  came  to  St. 
Denis,  where  he  met  many  prelates  and  divines,  under 
whose  guidance  he  caused  himself  to  be  instructed. 
A  historian  reports  that  the  King  caused  a  confer- 
ence to  be  held  before  him  between  the  divines  of  the 
two  churches,  and,  hearing  a  minister  grant  that  one 
might  be  saved  in  the  religion  of  the  Catholics,  his 
Majesty  broke  silence,  and  said  to  the  minister, 
"  How  ?  do  you  agree  that  one  may  be  saved  in  the 
religion  of  these  gentlemen  ?  "  The  minister  answer- 
ing that  he  doubted  it  not,  provided  they  lived  well, 
the  King  very  judiciously  replied  :  "  Prudence  advises 
that  I  should  be  of  their  religion  and  not  of  yours, 
because  being  of  theirs  I  may  be  saved  both  accord- 
ing to  their  opinion  and  yours,  but  being  of  yours  I 
can  be  saved  only  according  to  your  opinion  and  not 
according  to  theirs.  Prudence  therefore  teaches  me 
to  follow  the  most  assured."  And  thus,  after  long 
instructions,  in  which  he  desired  thoroughly  to  be 
cleared  of  all  his  doubts,  he  abjured  his  error,  made 
profession  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  received  absolu- 
tion in  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis,  in  the  month  of  July, 


HENRI  IV.  185 

1593,  by  the  ministry  of  Renaud  de  Beaune,  Arch' 
bishop  of  Bruges. 

That  evening  the  whole  country  between  Paris  and 
Pontoise  was  ablaze  with  bonfires ;  and  a  great  num- 
ber of  Parisians  who  had  flocked  to  St.  Denis  to  see 
this  ceremony  brought  back  a  good  report  and  filled 
the  whole  city  with  esteem  and  affection  for  the 
King,  so  that  they  called  him  no  longer  B^arnais,  but 
absolutely  King. 

The  Estates  of  Paris  did  not  sit  long  after  this. 
The  Due  de  Mayenne  dismissed  the  deputies,  who 
for  the  most  part  returned  ill  satisfied  to  their  prov- 
inces, which  served  not  a  little  to  dispose  them  to 
render  themselves  obedient  to  their  legitimate  sov- 
ereign. 

There  remained  now  no  other  pretext  to  the  League 
except  that  the  King  had  not  received  absolution 
from  St.  Peter's  chair,  that  therefore  he  was  not  yet 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Church,  and  that  they  could 
not  acknowledge  him  until  he  had  entered  at  the 
great  gate.  He  had  sent  the  Due  de  Nevers  to  Rome 
to  negotiate  this  affair  with  the  Pope,  who  was  very 
much  incensed  that  the  prelates  of  France  had  taken 
upon  themselves  to  absolve  him,  though  they  had 
absolved  him  but  provisionally  (ad  cautelam)  ;  for  he 
said  that  he  alone  had  authority  to  restore  a  relapsed 
person,  as  having  the  only  sovereign  power  to  bind 
and  to  loose ;  and  for  this  reason  he  appeared  so  en- 


186  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

raged  that  he  could  not  be  appeased  until  he  saw  the 
party  of  the  League  quite  overthrown. 

Now,  since  the  life  and  actions  of  the  King  made 
it  appear  that  his  conversion  was  not  feigned,  the 
League,  having  no  other  valuable  pretext,  was  dug 
up,  as  we  may  say,  by  the  very  roots,  so  that  before 
the  end  of  the  year  it  fell  to  the  ground,  and  there 
remained  to  it  only  a  very  small  number  of  places  in 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  realm,  the  other  chiefs  not 
being  willing  to  follow  to  the  end  the  fortunes  of  the 
Due  de  Mayenne.  This  Prince  was  very  irresolute, 
and  knew  not  what  he  ought  to  do,  as  much  by  reason 
of  his  natural  slowness  as  of  the  reluctance  he  had  to 
quit  the  sovereign  authority  which  he  had  in  his  hands, 
and  out  of  fear  likewise  of  not  finding  safety  with  the 
King. 

In  the  meantime  Yitry,  desiring  to  be  the  first  to 
return  unto  his  obedience,  as  he  had  been  the  first 
to  depart  from  it,  brought  back  the  city  of  Meaux. 
The  Comte  de  Carces  delivered  that  of  Aix  in  Pro- 
vence. Lyons  surrendered  of  itself,  which  the  Due 
de  Mayenne  partly  caused  by  having  endeavoured  to 
make  himself  master  of  that  city  and  so  snatch  it  from 
the  Due  de  Nemours,  his  brother  on  the  mother's  side, 
who  intended  to  establish  a  small  sovereignty  in  that 
country.  That  he  might  accomplish  his  design,  he 
had  by  secret  contrivances  made  the  burgesses  rise 
against  that  young  Prince,  so  that  they,  having  seized 


HENRI  IV.  187 

his  person,  had  made  him  a  prisoner  in  the  castle  of 
Pierre-Encise.  But  he  found  that  in  this  he  laboured 
more  for  the  King  than  for  himself ;  for  the  burgesses 
who  had  imprisoned  the  Due  de  Nemours,  fearing  lest 
the  brothers  should  agree  among  themselves  to  their 
prejudice,  treated  secretly  with  Colonel  Alfonso  d'Or- 
nano,  Lieutenant-General  for  the  King  in  the  Dauphi- 
nate,  and  being  well  fortified,  took  the  white  flag,  and 
cried,  "  Vive  le  Roi!^^  La  ChS,tre  likewise  returned  to 
its  duty,  with  the  cities  of  Orleans  and  Bruges.  The 
reduction  of  Paris  happened  on  the  22d  of  March. 
The  Parliament,  the  provost  of  the  merchants,  and 
the  sheriffs,  having  disposed  of  this  great  city,  re- 
ceived the  King,  despite  the  vain  endeavours  of  some 
remnant  of  the  faction  of  the  Sixteen.  The  Due  de 
Mayenne  had  gone  to  Picardy,  and  Brissac,  to  whom 
he  had  confided  the  government  of  Paris  for  some 
months  past,  ha%'ing  taken  it  from  the  Comte  de  Belin, 
broke  faith  with  him,  believing  he  owed  it  rather  to 
the  King  than  to  him. 

The  King  had  shortly  before  this  caused  hunseK  to 
be  anointed  at  Chartres,  with  the  cruse  of  St.  Martin 
of  Tours.  The  city  of  Rheims  was  still  in  the  hands  of 
the  League,  but  he  would  no  longer  defer  his  corona- 
tion, because  he  knew  that  that  ceremony  was  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  confirm  to  him  the  affection  and 
respect  of  his  people. 

It  was  almost  a  miracle  how,  there  being  four  or 


188  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

five  thousand  Spaniards  engarrisoned  in  Paris,  and  ten 
or  twelve  thousand  disaffected  persons  remaining  of 
the  cabal  of  the  Sixteen,  who  all  cruellj  hated  the 
King,  he  could  nevertheless  render  himself  master  of 
that  city  without  striking  a  blow  or  without  shedding 
blood,  except  that  of  five  or  six  mutineers  who  came 
into  the  streets  to  call  the  citizens  to  arms.  His 
troops  having  by  intelligence  seized  on  the  gates, 
ramparts,  and  public  places,  he  entered  triumphantly 
into  the  city  by  the  new  gate,  by  which  Henri  III. 
had  unhappily  fled  six  years  before,  and  went  directly 
to  Notre-Dame  to  hear  mass  and  cause  the  "Te  Deum" 
to  be  sung.  Afterwards  he  returned  to  the  Louvre, 
where  he  found  his  officers,  and  his  dinner  ready,  as 
if  he  had  always  remained  there. 

After  dinner  he  gave  the  Spanish  garrison  a  safe- 
conduct  and  a  good  convoy  to  conduct  them  as  far 
as  the  tree  of  Guise  in  all  security,  for  so  those  who 
brought  them  into  the  city  had  desired.  The  garrison 
departed  about  three  o'clock  on  the  day  of  his  en- 
trance, with  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  most  obstinate 
Leaguers,  who  chose  rather  to  follow  strangers  than 
obey  their  natural  Prince.  He  desired  to  see  them 
depart,  and  watched  them  passing  from  a  window  by 
the  gate  of  St.  Denis.  They  all  saluted  him  with 
their  hats  very  low  and  with  a  profound  inclination, 
and  he  returned  the  salutes  of  their  chiefs  with 
great  courtesy,  adding  these  words :  "  Commend  me 


HENRI   IV.  189 

to  your  master ;  go  now  in  peace,  but  return  no 
more." 

The  same  day  that  he  entered  Paris,  the  Cardinal 
de  Pelleve,  Archbishop  of  Sens,  an  ardent  Leaguer, 
expired  in  his  palace  of  Sens.  The  Cardinal  of  Pla- 
cenza,  legate  from  the  Pope,  had  safe-conduct  to  return 
home,  but  he  died  by  the  way.  Brissac  for  recom- 
pense had  the  staff  of  marshal,  and  a  place  as  honour- 
able counsellor  to  the  Parliament,  a  favour  very  rare 
in  that  time.  D'O  was  replaced  in  his  government  of 
Paris,  which  he  had  had  under  Henri  III. ;  but  he  did 
not  enjoy  it  long,  dying  soon  after.  That  part  of  the 
Parliament  which  was  at  Tours  was  recalled,  and 
that  which  was  at  Paris  reestablished  (for  it  had 
been  interdicted),  and  both  reunited  to  serve  con- 
jointly the  King. 

By  noon  of  the  day  on  which  our  Henri  entered, 
Paris  was  everywhere  peaceable.  The  burgesses  in  a 
moment  grew  familiar  with  the  soldiers,  the  artificers 
worked  in  their  shops ;  in  a  word,  the  calm  was  so 
profound  that  nothing  interrupted  it  but  the  ringing 
of  the  bells,  the  bonfires,  and  the  dances,  which  were 
made  in  all  the  streets  even  till  midnight.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  that  which  caused  this  joy  and  wonderful 
tranquillity  was  the  great  opinion  which  the  people 
had  conceived  of  the  generous  goodness  of  this  Prince, 
and  the  commands  he  gave  for  the  orderly  government 
of  his  soldiers. 


190  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

There  were  two  actions  which  he  performed  on  the 
day  he  entered  Paris  worthy  of  observation,  proceed- 
ing from  an  admirable  justice,  goodness,  and  policy. 

The  first  was  that  he  suffered  the  baggage  of  La 
Noue,  one  of  his  principal  officers,  to  be  arrested  by 
the  sergeants  on  his  entry  into  Paris,  for  the  debts  of 
his  father  contracted  in  his  service ;  and  when  La 
Noue  complained  to  him  of  this  insolence,  he  answered 
publicly,  "  La  Noue,  you  must  pay  his  debts,  for  I  pay 
likewise  those  of  mine."  But  after  that  he  took  him 
apart  and  gave  him  some  precious  stones  to  give  to 
his  creditors  instead  of  the  baggage  which  they  had 
seized.  Was  there  ever  a  finer  example  of  wonderful 
goodness  and  strict  justice  ? 

The  second  was  that  the  same  evening  he  played  at 
cards  with  the  Duchesse  de  Montpensier,  who  was  of 
the  House  of  Guise,  and  one  of  the  most  vehement 
Leaguers  of  the  party.     What  could  be  more  politic  ? 

After  this  reduction  of  Paris,  the  other  cities  and 
their  governors  hastened  likewise  to  conclude  their 
treaties.  Villars  made  his  for  Rouen,  thus  gaining  to 
himself  the  government  in  chief  of  this  city  and  baili- 
wick, as  well  as  that  of  the  country  of  Caux,  with 
the  office  of  admiral,  which  he  was  to  take  out  of  the 
hands  of  Biron,  who  became  Marshal  of  France  with 
twelve  hundred  thousand  livres  in  cash,  and  sixty 
thousand  livres  of  pension.  At  the  same  time,  or 
shortly   after,  Montreuil  and  Abbeville   in    Picardy, 


HENRI  IV.  191 

Troyes  in  Champagne,  Sens,  Eiom  in  Auvergne, 
Agen,  Marmande,  and  Villeneuve  d'Agenois  rendered 
themselves  obedient,  and  their  governors  had  all  they 
could  demand  of  the  King.  The  city  of  Poitiers  and 
the  country  thereabouts  yielded  likewise  by  means  of 
its  principal  magistrates;  and  the  Marquis  d'Elbeuf, 
governor  of  the  League,  seeing  that  he  could  not  hin- 
der the  revolution,  permitted  himself  to  be  drawn  in 
with  them,  and  made  his  peace  with  the  King,  who 
left  him  the  government  of  that  province. 

In  the  meantime,  Count  Mansfield  entered  into 
Picardy  to  endeavour  to  sustain  the  League,  which 
was  in  a  very  low  condition,  and  took  La  Capelle. 
The  King,  in  revenge,  laid  siege  to  Laon,  and  made  it 
capitulate,  notwithstanding  all  the  endeavours  of  the 
Due  de  Mayenne  to  relieve  it. 

Balagny,  with  his  city  of  Cambray,  likewise  re- 
nounced the  League  and  promised  service  to  the 
King.  He  had  called  himself  sovereign  of  this  city, 
and  had  held  it  from  the  time  that  Henri  III.'s 
brother  (the  Due  d'Alengon)  had  usurped  it  from  the 
Baron  of  Inchi,  who  in  the  great  rebellion  of  the 
Low  Countries  had  quitted  the  obedience  of  Spain  to 
join  his  party.  In  like  manner,  the  cities  of  Beau- 
vais  and  Peronne  renounced  the  League,  as  did  like- 
wise that  of  Amiens,  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  the 
Due  d'Aumale,  there  remaining  to  that  party  in  all 
Picardy   only   Soissons,  La   Fere,  and   Ham.      And, 


192  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

what  was  even  more  important,  the  Due  de  Guise 
shook  off  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  and  brought  the  cities 
of  Rheims,  Vitry,  and  Mezieres  unto  obedience  to  the 
King,  who  in  recompense  gave  him  the  government 
of  Provence,  from  which  he  was  obliged  to  withdraw 
the  Due  d'Epernon,  because  the  people,  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  the  nobility  had  taken  arms  against  him. 

The  Due  de  Lorraine  likewise,  who  negotiated  his 
peace  by  the  intervention  of  Bassompierre,  concluded 
it  on  the  26th  of  November.  But  neither  the  example 
of  this  Duke,  chief  of  the  House  of  Lorraine,  nor 
the  general  dissolution  of  that  party,  could  induce  the 
Due  de  Mayenne  to  withdraw  himself  from  that  dan- 
ger wherein  he  was  about  to  be  overwhelmed.  He 
could  not  abandon  that  fair  title  of  Lieutenant-General 
of  the  Crown,  but  flattered  himself  with  the  hope  that 
the  assistance  of  Spain  might  again  give  his  affairs 
the  upper  hand.  He  retired  into  his  government  of 
Burgundy,  because  that  remained  yet  most  true  to 
him,  though  to  keep  Dijon  he  was  forced  to  cut  off 
the  heads  of  the  mayor  and  another  citizen,  who  had 
laboured  to  reduce  it  to  the  King's  service. 

Now,  since  it  was  the  Spaniards  who  maintained 
him  in  his  obstinacy,  and  who  made  war  against  the 
King  in  his  name,  it  was  proposed  and  agreed  in  the 
Council  to  attack  them  in  open  war,  in  order  that, 
being  employed  in  their  own  country,  they  might  lack 
the  desire  and  leisure  of  coming  to  disquiet  the  King 


HENRI   IV.  193 

in  his  ;  for  they  not  only  assaulted  him  by  force  of 
arms  and  by  practices  which  encouraged  the  people  in 
rebellion,  but  they  wished  to  take  his  life,  and  endeav- 
oured to  murder  him  by  base  and  execrable  means. 
They  contrived  or  favoured  many  conspiracies  against 
his  sacred  person,  which  were,  however,  discovered. 
The  two  which  made  most  noise  were  that  of  one 
Pierre  Barriere  and  that  of  Jean  Castel. 

The  first  was  a  soldier,  aged  about  twenty-seven, 
who,  being  discovered  at  Melun  in  the  year  1593,  as 
he  sought  the  opportunity  to  deliver  his  detestable 
blow,  was  condemned  to  have  his  right  hand  burned, 
holding  the  knife  with  which  he  would  have  struck 
the  King,  and  afterwards  to  have  his  flesh  torn  off 
with  red-hot  pincers,  and  to  be  broken  on  the  wheel 
alive. 

The  second  was  a  young  scholar,  aged  about  eigh- 
teen, son  of  a  merchant  draper  of  Paris,  who  kept 
a  shop  in  front  of  the  palace.  This  villain,  about  the 
end  of  the  year  1594,  having  thrust  himself  with  the 
courtiers  into  the  chamber  of  the  fair  Gabrielle,  where 
the  King  was,  would  have  struck  him  with  a  knife  in 
the  belly,  but  by  good  fortune,  the  King  then  bowing 
to  salute  some  one,  the  blow  chanced  on  his  face  only, 
piercing  his  upper  lip  and  breaking  a  tooth.  It  was  not 
discovered  at  once  who  had  struck  the  blow ;  but  the 
Comte  de  Soissons,  seeing  this  young  man  affrighted, 
stopped  him  by  the  arm.      He  impudently  confessed 


194  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

that  he  had  given  the  blow,  and  maintained  that  he 
was  right  in  doing  it.  The  Parliament  condemned 
him  to  have  his  right  hand  burned,  his  flesh  torn  off 
with  red-hot  pincers,  and  afterwards  to  be  torn  in 
pieces  by  four  horses.  This  detestable  youth  showed 
no  sign  of  pain,  so  much  had  they  imprinted  in  his 
spirit  that  he  would  offer  a  sacrifice  acceptable  to 
God  by  taking  out  of  the  world  a  prince  relapsed 
and  excommunicate.  The  father  of  this  miserable 
villain  was  banished,  his  house  in  front  of  the  palace 
demolished,  and  a  pyramid  erected  in  its  place. 

The  Jesuits,  vmder  whom  this  miscreant  had  studied, 
were  likewise  accused  of  having  instructed  him  in  this 
pernicious  doctrine ;  and  they  having  many  enemies, 
the  Parliament  banished  the  whole  society  out  of  the 
kingdom  on  the  arrest  of  their  scholar.  Yet  these 
fathers  were  not  wanting,  notwithstanding  that  the 
times  were  contrary  to  them,  in  attempting  to  sus- 
tain their  honour,  but  wrote  many  things  to  justify 
themselves  against  the  charge.  And  truly  those  who 
were  not  their  enemies  did  not  at  all  believe  the  so- 
ciety culpable,  so  that,  some  years  later,  the  King 
revoked  the  decree  of  Parliament  and  recalled  them, 
as  we  shall  mention  hereafter. 

The  success  of  the  war  waged  against  Spain  was 
different  from  that  which  the  King  maintained  against 
the  League,  which  made  it  apparent  that  it  is  a  far 
different  thing  to  assault  a  stranger  equal  in  strength, 


HENRI   IV.  195 

over  whom  nothing  is  to  be  gained  but  by  force  of 
arms,  than  to  have  to  do  with  rebellious  subjects  in 
one's  own  country,  where  intrigues  and  rumours  pro- 
long the  strife. 

This  year  the  cities  of  Beaune,  Autun,  and  Aus- 
sonne  returned  to  their  obedience.  Those  of  Ma^on 
and  Auxerre  had  returned  the  year  before.  The  city 
of  Dijon  followed  their  example,  and  fortified  itself 
against  the  castle  which  Biron  went  to  besiege.  But 
in  the  meantime  the  Constable  of  Castile  descended 
with  a  great  army  of  Milanese  into  Burgundy  by  the 
French  county,  and  passed  the  Sa6ne  at  Gray  with 
the  Due  de  Mayenne. 

The  King,  who  had  gone  into  that  country,  had 
the  boldness  to  advance  as  far  as  Fontaine-Fran^aise. 
Here  it  was  that,  with  only  1,500  men,  he  made  head 
against  that  great  army,  and  performed  an  exploit  of 
war  scarcely  imaginable.  Villars-Oudan  and  Sanson, 
two  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  enemy's  army, 
charged  furiously  on  his  troops ;  Yillars  charged  a 
body  commanded  by  the  Mar^chal  de  Biron,  and  San- 
son another  by  the  side  of  it.  They  made  them  both 
give  way  and  retreat,  flying  within  sight  of  the  King. 
It  was  reported  that  Villars,  knowing  he  was  there, 
so  powerful  is  the  name  of  king,  durst  not  assault 
him,  but  retired  on  the  left  hand.  But  Sanson  was 
not  so  happy  ;  for  the  King,  having  with  him  only  one 
hundred  horse,  but  all  chosen  gentlemen  of  note,  and 


196  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

mounted  to  advantage,  with  his  sword  in  his  hand, 
mingled  with  the  enemy  and  cut  them  to  pieces. 
Sanson,  in  endeavouring  to  rally  his  people,  lost  his 
life,  but  won  no  small  honour. 

The  King  was  in  so  great  danger  in  this  fight  that 
he  himself  said  that  on  other  occasions  wherein  he 
had  been  engaged  he  had  fought  for  victory,  but  that 
in  this  he  had  fought  for  his  life. 

Having  therefore  made  the  Constable  by  this  en- 
counter see  in  what  manner  he  was  to  act,  he  so 
much  lowered  his  courage  that  he  durst  attempt  noth- 
ing, but  shortly  afterwards  retired.  The  Due  de 
Mayenne  likewise  despairing  at  such  ill  success,  and 
no  longer  knowing  where  to  hide  his  head,  had  re- 
solved to  retire  to  Sommerive  in  Savoy,  whence  he 
would  send  to  demand  a  safe-conduct  into  Spain  to 
give  an  account  of  his  actions  to  King  Philip  II. 
But  the  goodness  of  the  King  took  care  to  divert  him 
from  this  precipice,  and  to  open  to  him  means  of 
reconciliation.  He,  to  this  effect,  sent  for  Lignerac, 
his  confidant,  assured  him  of  the  good-will  he  always 
had  for  the  Duke,  testified  to  him  that  he  pitied  him, 
that  he  would  be  always  disposed  to  receive  him  into 
his  favour,  and  that  he  would  permit  him  to  retire  in 
safety  to  Chalons-sur-Sa8ne  until  they  could  conclude 
a  treaty  of  peace. 

The  Duke  accepted  this  favour ;  and  having  under- 
stood that  the  Pope  was  disposed  to  receive  the  King 


HENRI   IV.  197 

into  the  Church,  he  craved  a  general  truce  for  the 
rest  of  his  party. 

The  greater  part  of  the  King's  Council,  who  con- 
sidered the  delays  and  artifices  which  he  had  for  six 
years  employed,  having  begun  fifty  treaties  without 
ever  concluding  any,  advised  the  King  to  grant  him 
no  respite,  but  to  pursue  him  to  the  utmost.  But  the 
prudence  and  goodness  of  the  King  conformed  not 
with  this  sentiment,  because  he  was  not  ignorant  of 
two  maxims,  which  are  most  true  ones :  the  one,  that 
"  kings  may  always,  when  they  please,  reduce  the 
most  rebellious  to  their  duty  ; "  the  other,  that  "  it  is 
very  dangerous  to  reduce  great  persons  to  despair," 
especially  persons  of  the  quality  of  the  Due  de  Ma- 
yenne.  And  for  these  reasons,  acting  on  his  own 
opinion  and  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  Council,  he 
granted  him  a  truce.  The  events  which  followed 
demonstrate  well  that  this  sage  Prince  had  more 
knowledge  than  all  his  ministers,  and  how  prejudi- 
cial it  would  have  been  to  his  interests  to  do  the 
contrary. 

In  the  meantime,  of  those  three  cities  which  we 
have  said  remained  to  the  League  in  Picardy, — 
La  Fere,  Ham,  and  Soissons,  —  the  governor  of 
the  first,  named  Colas,  had  delivered  it  to  the  Span- 
iards, and  D'Orvilliers  had  done  the  same  with  Ham. 
However,  this  last  they  did  not  retain  long,  for 
D'Humieres,  one  of  the  bravest  gentlemen  of  those 


198  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

times,  came,  and  at  the  same  horn*  so  hotly  assaulted 
it  that,  after  a  long  and  bloody  defence,  they  were 
hewn  in  pieces ;  but  D'Humieres  was  killed,  and  more 
than  two  hundred  brave  gentlemen  with  him. 

This  loss  so  much  excited  the  indignation  of  the 
loyal  French  against  the  Leaguers  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  latter  fled  in  despair  to  the  Low  Countries 
and  to  Spain,  where  they  found  at  first  a  favourable 
reception  and  good  employment,  by  which  they  did 
very  gTcat  mischief  to  France.  Amongst  others  was 
a  valiant  captain  named  Rosny,  who,  imagining  that 
the  utmost  rigour  would  be  shown  to  those  who,  not 
being  governors,  had  no  places  to  buy  peace  with,  re- 
solved to  make  war  so  well  that  either  the  Spaniards 
should  have  cause  to  recompense  him,  or  the  King  to 
redeem  him. 

He  it  was  who  inspired  the  Count  of  Fuentes  with 
the  design  of  besieging  Cambray  after  he  had  forced 
Cattelet,  and  who  persuaded  him  to  facilitate  this  great 
enterprise  by  taking  Dourlens  first,  in  order  that  the 
French  might  not  bring  an  army  to  relieve  it.  It  was 
likewise  by  his  counsel  that  Fuentes  went  to  meet  the 
Due  de  Nevers,  the  Marechal  de  Bouillon,  and  Amiral 
de  Villars,  who  came  to  the  relief  of  Dourlens ;  that 
he  fought  them,  and  defeated  them  with  a  great 
slaughter  of  the  French  nobility,  and  caused  De  Vil- 
ars,  one  of  the  bravest  men  of  his  time,  to  be  slain 
in  cold  blood.     Afterwards  returning  to  Cambray,  he 


HENRI   IV.  199 

took  it  by  famine,  and  despoiled  Balagny  of  his  pre- 
tended principality. 

But  news  most  important  and  long  expected  com- 
forted the  King  for  these  two  great  losses  of  Dourlens 
and  Cambray,  which  was  that  he  received  information 
that  the  Holy  Father,  passing  over  all  those  difficulties 
which  the  Spaniards  formed,  had  granted  his  absolu- 
tion on  the  16th  of  September,  by  the  negotiation  and 
persistency  of  D'Ossat  and  Du  Perron,  advocates  in 
the  Court  of  Rome,  who  were  afterwards,  upon  his 
recommendation,  honoured  with  cardinal's  caps. 

After  this,  the  Due  de  Mayenne,  having  no  longer 
hopes  of  holding  out,  resolved  to  sue  for  peace.  It 
was  very  late,  and  he  could  not  well  expect  to  be 
treated  otherwise  than  with  the  utmost  rigour,  if  the 
generosity  of  the  King  had  not  been  greater  than  the 
Duke's  obstinacy.  It  is  most  true  that  the  fair  Gabri- 
elle,  very  well  disposed  to  those  who  asked  his  favour, 
and  being  at  present  in  hopes  to  create  to  herself 
friends  and  supports  with  regard  to  the  marriage  of 
the  King,  to  which  she  aspired,  did  not  a  little  assist 
to  obtain  a  most  favourable  understanding.  Certainly 
the  terms  of  the  edict  and  the  conditions  which  the 
King  granted  him  are  so  honourable  that  no  subject 
ever  had  greater  advantages  from  any  King  of  France ; 
but  they  would  have  been  greater  if  before  his  party 
had  been  so  much  ruined  he  had  treated  for  those 
great  cities  which  yet  held  him  as  their  chief,  and 


200  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

which  by  this  means  he  might  still  have  kept  firm  to 
his  interests. 

Some  time  after,  he  came  to  Monceaux  to  salute  the 
King,  who,  seeing  him  coming  along  an  alley  where 
he  was  walking,  advanced  some  paces  towards  him 
with  all  alacrity  and  good  countenance  possible,  and 
straightway  thrice  embracing  him,  assured  him  that 
he  esteemed  him  so  absolute  a  man  of  honour  that  he 
doubted  not  his  word,  treating  him  with  as  much  free- 
dom as  if  he  had  always  been  his  most  faithful  servant. 
The  Duke,  surprised  with  his  goodness,  said  at  his 
departure  that  it  was  now  only  that  the  King  had 
completely  vanquished  him.  And  he  afterwards  as 
well  performed  the  duty  of  a  most  faithful  subject  as 
the  King  showed  himself  a  good  prince  and  an  exact 
observer  of  his  word. 

At  the  same  time  that  this  Duke  had  concluded  his 
treaty  and  obtained  an  edict  from  the  King  which  con- 
iirmed  it,  the  Due  de  Nemours,  his  brother  by  the 
mother's  side,  and  who  was  called  the  Marquis  de  St. 
Sorlin  whilst  the  brave  Due  de  Nemours,  his  elder 
brother,  was  living,  by  means  of  his  mother  became 
likewise  reconciled  to  the  King,  and  brought  to  his 
obedience  some  little  places  which  he  yet  held  in 
Lyonnais  and  Forez. 

His  elder  brother,  one  of  the  most  noble  and  gen- 
erous men  ever  known,  died  the  year  before  of  a 
strange  malady,  which  made  him  vomit  through  his 


HENRI  IV.  201 

mouth  and  through  all  his  pores,  even  to  the  last  drop 
of  his  blood.  Whether  this  malady  happened  to  him 
through  his  extreme  grief  when  he  was  shut  up  in  the 
castle  of  Pierre-Encise  at  hearing  of  the  surrender  of 
Vienne,  which  was  his  surest  retreat,  or  whether  it 
were  caused  by  a  sharp  and  scalding  poison,  reported 
to  have  been  given  him  by  those  who  feared  his  re- 
sentment, he  died  without  being  married,  and  his 
younger  brother,  of  whom  we  are  now  speaking,  was 
father  of  those  Messieurs  de  Nemours  whose  deaths 
we  mourned  not  long  since. 

The  Due  de  Joyeuse,  who,  after  the  death  of  his 
younger  brother,  slain  in  the  battle  of  Villemur,  near 
Montauban,  had  doffed  his  attire  of  Capuchin  to  be- 
come chief  of  the  League  in  Languedoc,  and  had 
maintained  the  city  of  Toulouse  and  the  neighbour- 
ing countries  in  his  party,  took  likewise  this  oppor- 
tunity to  make  his  submission,  and  obtained  very 
favourable  conditions,  by  the  influence  of  Cardinal 
de  Joyeuse,  his  other  brother ;  amongst  other  things 
he  was  given  the  staff  of  Marshal  of  France.  The 
Seigneur  de  Boisdaufin  received  the  same  recompense, 
though  he  had  no  more  than  two  little  places  in 
Maine  and  Anjou :  namely.  Sable  and  Chateau-Gon- 
tier,  the  King  granting  him  this  good  treatment  rather 
in  consideration  of  his  person  than  his  places. 

All  were  now  submissive,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Due  de  Mercoeur  and  the  city  of  Marseilles.     This  city 


202  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

was  governed  by  Charles  de  Casaus,  the  consul,  and 
by  Louis  d'Aix,  the  provost  or  judge.  As  these  two 
men  were  upon  the  point  of  delivering  it  up  to  the 
Spaniards,  a  burgess  named  Libertat,  with  a  band  of 
his  friends,  caused  the  inhabitants  to  rise  against  them, 
and  having  killed  Casaux  and  driven  out  Louis  d'Aix, 
placed  it  in  complete  submission  to  the  King. 

As  for  the  Due  de  Mercoeur,  the  King  granted  him 
a  prolongation  of  the  truce,  because  he  was  not  able 
just  then  to  go  and  dispossess  him  of  the  rest  of  Brit- 
tany, being  much  hindered  by  the  siege  of  La  F^re, 
which  he  conducted  in  person,  and  where  he  had  made 
but  little  progress  in  three  or  four  months.  Moreover, 
it  happened  when  he  least  expected  it  that  the  Arch- 
duke Albert,  who  commanded  the  Spanish  army,  in- 
cited by  the  counsels  of  Rosny,  of  whom  we  just  now 
spoke,  fell  upon  Calais,  and  that  Rosny,  who  was  a 
great  captain,  having  first  taken  the  forts  of  Risban 
and  Nieule,  the  Spaniards  forced  the  place  on  the 
24th  of  April,  and  put  all  to  the  sword.  Shortly 
after,  the  King  took  La  Fere,  which  surrendered  for 
want  of  provisions.  The  Spaniards,  having  made  the 
treaty,  would  accept  no  hostages  from  him,  saying 
that  they  knew  he  was  a  generous  prince  and  of  good 
credit,  a  testimony  so  much  the  more  glorious  for 
him  because  it  came  from  the  mouth  of  his  enemies. 

The  grief  which  he  felt  for  the  loss  of  Calais  was 
redoubled  by  that  of  the  cities  of  Guinez  and  Ardres, 


I 


HENRI  IV.  203 

which  were  likewise  taken  by  the  industiy  and  valour 
of  Rosny,  who  would  have  done  many  similar  exploits 
if,  happily  for  France,  he  had  not  been  killed  some 
months  after  at  the  siege  of  Hulst,  near  Ghent. 

Now  the  news  of  these  four  or  five  great  losses, 
sustained  one  upon  the  other,  cast  some  terror  into 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  the  emissaries  of  Spain 
sowed  new  seeds  of  dissension  in  their  spirits,  to 
that  end  availing  themselves  of  all  sorts  of  pretexts, 
but  above  all,  of  that  of  the  oppression  of  the  people. 
This  was  indeed  great,  but  it  was  caused  by  the  pillages 
of  war  and  by  the  necessity  of  affairs  rather  than  by 
the  King's  fault,  who  had  no  greater  desire  than  to 
procure  the  ease  of  his  subjects,  as  we  shall  see. 

This  cast  him  into  a  great  affliction  and  trouble, 
because  he  had  no  treasure  to  continue  the  war,  and 
he  foresaw  by  the  murmurs  already  excited  that  if  he 
crushed  the  people  more  he  should  raise  against  him- 
self a  new  tempest.  In  this  trouble,  he  had  recourse 
to  that  great  remedy  to  which  it  is  customary  to  resort 
when  France  is  in  danger ;  that  is,  the  convocation  of 
the  Estates ;  but  because  the  pressing  necessity  gave 
him  no  time  to  assemble  them  in  a  full  body,  he  called 
only  the  chiefs  of  the  peers  of  his  Estate,  of  the  prel- 
ates, and  of  the  nobility,  with  the  officers  of  justice 
and  of  the  revenues. 

He  desired  that  the  Assembly  should  be  held  at 
Souen,  in  the  great  hall  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Ouen,  in 


204  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  midst  of  which  he  was  seated  in  a  chair  elevated 
in  form  of  a  throne,  with  a  cloth  and  canopy  of  state. 
On  each  side  of  him  were  the  prelates  and  noblemen ; 
behind,  the  four  secretaries  of  state ;  beneath  him, 
the  first  presidents  of  the  sovereign  courts  and  the 
deputies  of  the  officers  of  justice  and  of  the  revenues. 
He  made  his  overtures  to  them  in  a  speech  worthy  a 
true  king,  who  ought  to  believe  that  his  greatness 
and  authority  consist  not  only  in  an  absolute  power, 
but  in  the  good  of  his  State  and  the  safety  of  his 
people. 

"  If  I  accounted  it  a  glory,"  said  he  to  them,  "  to 
pass  for  an  excellent  orator,  I  should  have  brought 
hither  rather  good  words  than  good-will ;  but  my  am- 
bition tends  to  something  higher  than  well-speaking ; 
I  aspire  to  those  glorious  titles  of  Redeemer  and 
Restorer  of  France.  Already,  by  the  favours  of 
Heaven,  by  the  counsels  of  my  faithful  servants,  and 
by  the  sword  of  my  brave  and  generous  nobility 
(from  which  I  distinguish  not  my  Princes,  the  qual- 
ity of  gentleman  being  the  fairest  title  we  possess), 
I  have  delivered  it  from  slavery  and  ruin.  I  desire 
at  present  to  restore  it  to  its  former  power  and  to 
its  ancient  splendour.  Participate,  my  subjects,  in 
this  second  glory,  as  you  have  participated  in  the  first. 
I  have  not  called  you  hither,  as  my  predecessors  have 
done,  to  force  you  blindly  to  approve  my  will.  I  have 
caused  you  to  be  assembled  to  receive  your  counsels, 


HENRI   IV.  205 

to  believe  them,  to  follow  them,  and,  in  a  word,  to 
put  myself  in  guardianship  under  your  hands.  This 
is  a  desire  which  seldom  possesses  kings  gray-haired 
and  victorious  like  myself ;  but  the  love  I  bear  my 
subjects,  and  the  exti*eme  desire  I  have  to  preserve 
my  State,  makes  me  find  all  things  easy  and  hon- 
ourable." 

The  Assembly,  moved  even  to  the  bottom  of  their 
hearts  by  such  tender  words,  laboured  with  affection 
to  find  the  wherewithal  to  continue  the  war ;  and  to 
this  effect  they  ordained  that  one  year's  payment  of 
all  officers'  salaries  should  be  gathered,  and  that  for 
two  years  only  there  should  be  imposed  one  sou  per 
pound  on  all  which  entered  into  walled  cities,  except- 
ing only  corn,  which  is  the  nourishment  of  the  poor. 
This  last  resort  caused  much  trouble  in  the  provinces 
beyond  the  Loire.  But  B.osny,i  whom  the  King  had 
some  months  before  made  superintendent,  no  less 
able  than  faithful,  as  we  shall  show  elsewhere,  joined 
to  this  stock  a  great  sum  of  money  which  the  receivers 
had  diverted,  and  which  he  caused  to  be  returned  to 
the  King's  coffers. 

In  the  meantime  the  King  of  Spain,  finding  the 
forces  both  of  his  body  and  mind  diminishing  by 
a  languor  which  afterwards  degenerated  into  a  hor- 
rible malady,  feared  lest  his  weakness  should  cause 
revolts  in  his  countries,  so  distant  from  one  another. 

1  Marquis  de  Rosny,  the  celebrated  Sully,  born  1560,  died  1641. 


206  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Moreover,  lie  had  expended  his  revenues,  and  passion- 
ately desired  to  give  the  Low  Countries  to  his  dearest 
daughter  Isabella ;  and  for  these  reasons  had  made 
known  to  the  Holy  Father  that  he  desired  peace,  and 
his  Holiness  had  sent  the  general  of  the  Cordeliers 
to  dispose  him  more  particularly  to  it. 

But  now,  when  some  progress  was  made  in  it, 
there  happened  an  accident  which  retarded  it  for 
more  than  a  year.  Hernand  Teillo,  Governor  of 
Dourlens  for  the  Spaniards,  being  notified  of  the 
little  care  which  the  burgesses  of  Amiens  took  in 
the  guard  of  their  city,  surprised  it  one  morning 
about  nine  o'clock  when  they  were  at  mass,  it  be- 
ing Lent  time,  having  caused  the  gate  to  be  blocked 
with  a  cart  laden  with  nuts,  of  which  a  sack  was 
purposely  spilt  to  amuse  the  soldiers  of  the  guard. 
This  troublesome  news  the  more  astonished  the  King 
because  he  was  at  present  rejoicing  and  diverting 
himself  at  Paris.  He  had  given  orders  that  all 
important  packets  should  be  brought  directly  to  him 
and  not  to  others,  and  that  they  should  bring  him 
them  at  all  hours  whatsoever ;  so  that  when  he  was 
in  a  profound  sleep  after  attending  a  ball,  a  courier 
came  to  awaken  him  to  tell  him  of  this  accident. 

He  immediately  leapt  out  of  bed  and  sent  for 
three  or  four  of  his  greatest  confidants  to  consult 
with  them.  They  all  judged  that  it  happened  at  a 
very  unfortunate  time,  because  the  Due  de  Mercoeur 


HENRI   IV.  207 

■was  powerful  in  Brittany,  the  rest  of  the  factions 
being  yet  concealed  under  their  ashes,  the  Hugue.- 
nots  making  cabals  or  secret  councils,  and  the  con- 
sternation of  Paris  being  very  great,  for  it  beheld 
itself  by  this  means  become  a  frontier.  But  the 
heroic  courage  of  the  King,  whom  so  many  perils 
could  not  terrify,  was  not  startled  by  this;  on  the 
contrary,  he  resolved  to  encounter  it  at  once  and  go 
immediately  to  invest  Amiens  before  the  Spaniards 
were  longer  settled  in  it. 

His  greatest  captains  were  not  of  this  mind ;  but, 
notwithstanding  that,  he,  who  had  greater  knowledge 
and  more  constancy  than  them  all,  undertook  it  cour- 
ageously ;  not  so  much,  said  he,  on  account  of  his 
expectation  of  succeeding  by  human  means  as  of  the 
confidance  he  had  in  God,  who  had  always  done  him 
the  grace  to  assist  him. 

And  in  truth  it  may  be  said  that  God  assisted  the 
King  more  visibly  on  this  occasion  than  he  had  ever 
done.  For  he  discovered  many  conspiracies  against 
his  person,  particularly  one  amongst  the  religious 
orders,  whom  an  agent  of  the  King  of  Spain,  as  it 
was  said,  would  have  induced  to  kill  him ;  and  also 
very  dangerous  cabals  which  the  money  of  the  same 
King  upheld  at  Paris,  which  observed  all  his  actions, 
and  had  designed  one  day  to  seize  his  person  at  his 
castle  of  St.  Germain-en-Laye.  ^ 

Moreover,  his  people  answered  as  they  ought  to  his 


208  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

paternal  affection,  not  denying  him  anything  that  he 
demanded  to  hasten  the  siege  ;  and  all  the  Leaguers, 
desiring  to  testify  to  him  their  thankfulness  for  all 
his  goodnesses,  served  him  so  faithfully  and  vigor- 
ously on  this  occasion,  whilst  others  wavered  and 
kept  their  stations,  that  he  was  obliged  to  say  that 
he  acknowledged  that  the  greater  part  of  that  people 
hated  not  his  person,  but  only  the  Huguenot  religion. 

The  siege  was  for  some  time  difficult  and  doubtful, 
and  if  the  King  of  Spain  had  employed  all  his  power, 
the  King  could  never  have  succeeded  in  it.  But  the 
King  of  Spain  had  become  very  melancholy ;  he  de- 
sired only  repose,  and  cared  no  more  for  conquests, 
so  that  he  gave  not  any  of  those  assistances  which 
the  Archduke  demanded.  The  Archduke  ceased  not, 
however,  to  use  his  greatest  endeavours  to  raise  the 
siege.  He  presented  himself  before  the  quarter  of 
Longpr^  with  very  great  forces  on  a  day  when  he 
was  not  expected,  which  put  the  French  into  so  great 
a  fear  and  disorder  that,  had  he  known  how  to  avail 
himself  of  the  occasion,  and  had  he  not  lost  time  in 
consultation,  he  would  have  put  those  three  thousand 
men  into  the  city,  as  he  had  intended. 

The  King,  on  returning  from  hunting,  found  a 
general  fear  throughout  his  army,  and  likewise  some 
of  his  principal  officers  quite  daunted.  In  so  great 
a  danger  neither  his  heart  nor  his  head  failed  him ; 
he  dissembled  his  fear,  gave  orders  with  coolness,  and 


HENRI   IV.  209 

showed  himself  everywhere  with  a  cheerful  counte- 
nance, and  with  discourses  as  resolute  as  after  a 
victory.  He  made  his  forces  nimbly  draw  into  the 
field  of  battle,  which  he  had  chosen  three  days  before, 
eight  hundred  paces  from  the  lines.  From  this  place, 
having  considered  the  excellent  order  of  the  Spanish 
army,  the  little  assurance  of  his,  and  the  weakness 
of  his  posts,  which  he  had  not  had  leisure  to  fortify, 
he  was  a  little  moved,  and  doubted  of  the  success  of 
the  day.  Leaning  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  with 
his  hat  in  his  hand,  and  lifting  up  his  eyes  to  heaven, 
he  uttered  these  words  with  a  loud  voice :  "0  Lord, 
if  it  be  to-day  thou  wilt  punish  me  as  my  sins  deserve, 
I  offer  my  head  to  thy  justice  ;  spare  not  the  culpa- 
ble, but.  Lord,  for  thy  holy  mercy's  sake,  take  pity  on 
the  poor  kingdom,  and  smite  not  the  flock  for  the 
offence  of  the  shepherd." 

The  wonderful  efficacy  of  these  words  cannot  be 
expressed ;  they  were  in  a  moment  carried  through 
the  whole  army,  and  it  seemed  as  if  some  virtue  from 
Heaven  had  given  courage  to  the  French. 

The  Archduke,  therefore,  finding  them  resolved  and 
in  good  countenance,  durst  not  pass  further.  Some 
other  attempts  he  afterwards  made  which  did  not  suc- 
ceed, and  he  retired  by  night  into  the  country  of  Artois, 
where  he  dismissed  his  army.  At  length,  Hernand 
Teillo  being  slain  by  a  musket  shot,  the  besieged 
capitulated,  and  the  King  established  as  governor  in 


210  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  city  the  Seigneur  de  Vic,  a  man  of  great  order 
and  exact  discipline,  who  by  the  royal  command  began 
to  build  a  citadel  there. 

At  his  departure  from  Amiens,  the  King  led  his 
army  to  the  very  gates  of  Arras  to  visit  the  Arch- 
duke ;  he  remained  three  days  in  battle  array,  and 
saluted  the  city  with  some  volleys  of  cannon.  After- 
wards, seeing  that  nothing  appeared,  he  retired  towards 
France,  ill  satisfied,  he  gallantly  said,  with  the  cour- 
tesy of  the  Spaniards,  who  would  not  advance  so  much 
as  one  pace  to  receive  him,  but  had  with  an  ill  grace 
refused  the  honour  he  did  them. 

The  Marechal  de  Biron  served  him  extraordinarily 
well  at  this  siege ;  and  the  King,  when  he  had  re-" 
turned  to  Paris,  and  the  citizens  had  given  him  a 
reception  truly  royal,  said  to  them,  showing  them  the 
Marshal, "  Gentlemen,  see  here  the  Marechal  de  Biron, 
whom  I  do  willingly  present  both  to  my  friends  and 
to  my  enemies." 

There  remained  now  no  appearance  of  the  League 
in  France,  except  the  Due  de  Mercoeur,  yet  keeping 
a  corner  of  Brittany.  The  King  had  often  granted 
him  a  truce,  and  offered  him  great  conditions,  but  he 
was  so  intoxicated  with  ambition  to  make  himself 
duke  of  that  country  that  he  found  out  daily  new 
fancies  to  delay  the  concluding  of  peace,  imagining 
that  time  might  afford  him  some  favourable  revolu- 
tion, and  flattering  himself  with  I  know  not  what 


HENRI   IV.  211 

prophecies,  which  assured  him  that  the  King  should 
die  in  two  years. 

At  last  the  King,  wearied  with  so  many  excuses, 
turned  his  head  that  way,  resolving  to  chastise  his 
obstinacy  as  it  deserved.  The  Duke  would  certainly 
have  been  lost,  if  he  had  not  been  advised  to  save 
himself  by  offering  his  only  daughter  to  the  elder  son 
of  the  fair  Gabrielle  d'Bstr^es,  Duchesse  de  Beaufort. 

His  delegates  could  at  first  obtain  nothing  else  but 
that  he  should  immediately  depart  from  Brittany,  and 
give  up  those  places  which  he  held,  which  done,  his 
Majesty  would  grant  him  forgiveness  for  all  his  past 
misdeeds,  and  receive  him  into  his  favour.  But  the 
King,  being  of  a  tender  heart,  and  desiring  to  advance 
his  natural  son  by  so  rich  and  noble  a  marriage, 
granted  him  a  very  advantageous  edict,  which  was 
verified  in  the  Parliament,  as  all  those  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  League  were.  This  arrangement  was  made  at 
Angers,  the  contract  of  marriage  signed  at  the  chSr 
teau,  and  the  betrothal  celebrated  with  the  same  mag- 
nificence as  if  he  had  been  a  legitimate  son  of  France. 
He  was  four  years  old  and  the  maiden  six. 

The  King  gave  him  the  Duchy  of  Vend6me,  by  the 
same  rights  that  other  dukes  hold  them,  which  the 
Parliament  verified,  not  without  great  repugnance, 
and  with  this  condition,  that  it  should  be  no  prece- 
dent for  the  other  goods  of  the  King's  patrimony, 
which  by  the  laws  of  the  realm  were  considered  as 


212  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

reunited  to  the  Crown  from  the  time  of  his  coming 
to  it. 

From  Angers  the  King  passed  into  Brittany.  He 
stayed  some  time  at  Nantes,  and  thence  went  to 
Rennes,  where  the  Estates  were  held.  He  passed 
about  two  months  in  this  city,  in  feasts,  joys,  and 
diversions ;  but  yet  ceasing  not  to  seriously  employ 
himself  in  hastening  the  expedition  of  many  affairs. 
For  it  is  to  be  observed  that  this  great  Prince  em- 
ployed himself  all  the  mornings  in  serious  things,  and 
dedicated  the  rest  of  the  day  to  his  diversions;  yet 
not  in  such  manner  that  he  would  not  readily  quit  his 
greatest  pleasures  when  there  was  anything  of  impor- 
tance to  be  done  ;  and  he  still  gave  express  orders  not 
to  delay  the  notification  to  him  of  such  things. 

He  abolished  a  great  many  superfluous  garrisons 
in  this  country ;  suppressed  many  imposts  which  the 
tyranny  of  many  persons  had  introduced  during  the 
war ;  disbanded  all  those  pilfering  troops  which  laid 
waste  the  land ;  sent  forth  the  provosts  into  the  coun- 
try against  the  thieves,  who  were  in  great  number ; 
restored  justice  to  its  authority,  which  license  had 
weakened ;  and  gathered  four  millions,  of  which  the 
Estates  of  the  country  of  their  own  free  will  levied 
eight  hundred  thousand  crowns.  So  he  laboured  prof- 
itably for  those  two  ends  which  he  ought  most  to 
desire :  the  ease  of  his  people  and  the  increase  of  his 
treasures,  —  two  things  which  are  incompatible  when 


HENRI   IV.  213 

a  prince  is  neither  just  nor  a  good  manager,  or  lets 
his  money  be  managed  by  others  without  taking  dili- 
gent care  of  his  accounts. 

Thus  was  a  calm  of  peace  restored  to  France  within 
itself,  after  ten  years'  civil  war,  by  a  particular  grace 
of  God  on  this  kingdom,  and  by  the  labour,  diligence, 
goodness,  and  valour  of  the  best  King  that  ever  was. 
And  in  the  meantime  a  peace  was  earnestly  sought 
for  between  the  two  Crowns  of  France  and  Spain. 
The  two  Kings  equally  wished  it :  our  Henri,  because 
he  passionately  desired  to  ease  his  people  and  to  let 
them  regain  their  forces  after  so  many  bloody  and 
violent  agitations  ;  and  Philip,  because  he  found  him- 
self drawing  to  the  end  of  his  days,  and  that  his  son 
Philip  III.  was  not  able  to  sustain  the  burden  of  a  war 
against  so  great  a  king. 

The  plenipotentiaries  of  one  side  and  the  other  had 
been  assembled  for  three  months  in  the  little  city  of 
Vervins,  with  the  papal  nmicio.  Those  of  France 
were  Pompone  de  Bellievre  and  Nicolas  Brulard  de 
Sillery,  both  councillors  of  state,  and  the  last  like- 
wise President  of  the  Parliament,  who,  acting  agree- 
ably and  without  jealousies,  determined  on  the  most 
difficult  articles  in  very  little  time,  and,  according  to 
the  order  they  received  from  the  King,  signed  the 
peace  on  the  2d  of  May.  On  the  12th  of  the  same 
month  it  was  published  at  Vervins. 

It  would  be  too  long  to  insert  here  all  the  articles 


214  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

of  the  treaty ;  I  shall  say  only  that  it  was  agreed  that 
the  Spaniards  should  surrender  all  the  places  they  had 
taken  in  Picardy,  as  well  as  Blavet,  which  they  yet 
held  in  Brittany ;  that  the  Duke  of  Savoy  should  be 
comprehended  in  this  treaty,  provided  he  delivered  to 
the  King  the  city  of  Berry,  which  he  held  in  Pro- 
vence ;  and  for  the  marquisate  of  Saluces,  which  that 
Duke  had  taken  from  France  towards  the  latter  end 
of  the  reign  of  Henri  III.,  that  it  should  be  remitted 
to  the  judgment  of  the  Holy  Father,  who  was  to 
decide  that  controversy  in  a  year. 

The  publication  of  the  peace  was  made  on  the 
same  day  through  all  the  cities  of  France  and  the  Low 
Countries,  with  such  great  rejoicings  that  the  report 
of  them  spread  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  Christen- 
dom ;  but  none  were  more  truly  pleased  than  our 
Henri,  who  was  accustomed  to  say  that,  it  being  a 
thing  barbarous  and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature 
and  Christianity  to  make  war  for  the  love  of  war, 
a  Christian  prince  ought  never  to  refuse  peace  if  it 
were  not  absolutely  disadvantageous  to  him. 


PART  m. 

Briefly  containing  what  Henri  the  Great  did  after  the  Peace 
of  Vervins,  made  in  the  year  1598,  tmtil  his  death,  which 
happened  in  the  year  1610. 

Hitherto  we  have  followed  the  fortune  of  our 
Henri  through  ways  craggy  and  intricate,  over  rocks 
and  precipices,  during  times  very  troublesome  and 
full  of  storms  and  tempests.  Now  we  are  about  to 
trace  it  through  paths  more  fair,  in  the  sweetness  of 
calm  and  quiet  peace ;  where,  however,  his  virtue  slept 
not  in  his  repose,  but  appeared  always  active ;  where 
his  great  soul  was  employed  without  ceasing  in  the 
true  functions  of  royalty,  and  where,  in  fine,  among 
his  diversions,  he  made  his  most  necessary  and  most 
important  duties  his  principal  pleasures. 

In  the  first  two  parts  of  his  life  which  we  have 
seen,  he  was  by  constraint  a  man  of  war  and  of  the 
field ;  in  this  last  a  man  of  counsel  and  a  great  poli- 
tician, but  in  both  invincible  and  indefatigable. 

The  true  duty  of  a  sovereign  consists  principally 
in  protecting  his  subjects.  He  must  both  defend 
them  against  strangers  and  repress  the  factions  and 
attempts  of  rebels.     It  is  for  this  purpose  that  he  has 

215 


216  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  power  of  arms  placed  in  his  hands,  and  that  it 
is  advantageous  to  him  to  perfectly  understand  the 
mystery  of  war.  But  that  comprehends  but  a  part 
of  his  functions,  and  we  may  truly  say  that  it  is 
neither  the  most  necessary  nor  the  most  satisfac- 
tory, for,  besides  being  able  to  manage  his  wars  by 
his  lieutenants,  who  doubts  him  to  be  the  most  happy 
prince  that  governs  his  affairs  in  such  a  manner  that 
he  has  no  need  of  his  sword,  but  is  powerful  enough 
to  distribute  justice,  punish  the  wicked,  and  to  honour 
and  reward  deserving  men ;  to  confer  graces  and  rec- 
ompenses, to  keep  good  order,  and  conserve  the  laws ; 
to  maintain  his  provinces  in  tranquillity,  sustain  his 
reputation  and  greatness  by  his  good  conduct,  inform 
himself  often  and  diligently  of  all  that  passes,  make 
liimself  feared  by  his  enemies  and  esteemed  by  his 
allies ;  and,  like  a  sovereign,  himself  to  preside  at 
his  Council,  listen  to  ambassadors  and  answer  them ; 
to  settle  great  affairs  by  treaty  and  negotiation  ;  to 
watch  incessantly,  so  as  to  prevent  all  ill,  and  deprive 
wicked  persons  and  enemies  of  their  power  to  hurt ; 
to  encourage  commerce  and  the  study  of  sciences  and 
the  fine  arts ;  to  make  his  kingdom  rich,  flourishing, 
and  abundant ;  to  fetch  wealth  from  all  quarters  of 
the  earth ;  but,  above  all,  to  procure  the  glory  and 
service  of  God,  so  that  his  kingdom  may  be  as  a 
paradise  of  delights  and  a  harbour  of  felicity  ?  These 
are,  in  my  opinion,  employments  worthy  of  a  power- 


1 


HENRI   IV.  217 

ful  king,  a  Christian  and  wise  ding,  who,  being  the 
shepherd  of  his  people  (as  Homer  often  calls  the  great 
King  Agamemnon),  ought  to  know  not  only  how  to 
drive  away  the  wolves,  —  I  mean,  make  war,  —  but 
likewise  how  to  manage  his  flock,  preserve  them  from 
all  diseases,  and  fatten  and  multiply  them. 

The  peace  being  proclaimed,  to  the  incredible  joy 
of  the  French,  Flemings,  and  Spaniards,  it  was  sol- 
emnly sworn  by  the  King  on  the  21st  of  June,  in  the 
Church  of  Notre-Dame,  on  the  Cross  and  the  Holy 
Evangelists,  in  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Arscot 
and  the  Admiral  of  Arragon,  ambassadors  sent  by 
the  King  of  Spain  for  that  purpose ;  and  afterwards 
Cardinal  Archduke  Albert,  Governor  of  the  Low 
Countries  for  that  King,  swore  it  on  the  26  th  of  the 
same  month,  in  the  city  of  Brussels,  the  Mar^chal  de 
Biron  assisting,  whom  our  Henri  had  newly  honoured 
with  the  dignity  of  duke  and  peer,  confirmed  in  Par- 
liament, as  much  in  order  to  bestow  more  splendour 
upon  that  embassy  as  to  recompense  those  great  ser- 
vices which  that  nobleman  had  rendered  him  in  his 
wars. 

In  this  voyage  the  Spaniards  spared  neither  ca- 
resses nor  praises  of  this  new  duke,  to  inspire  him  with 
pride  and  vanity,  and  intoxicated  him  to  such  an  ex- 
tent with  a  good  opinion  of  himself,  that  he  took  it 
into  his  head  that  the  King  owed  him  more  than  he 
would  ever  be  able  to  give  him,  and  that  if  his  valour 


218  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

were  not  sufficiently  honoured  in  France,  lie  would 
find  some  one  else  who  would  set  a  higher  value  upon 
it.     This  afterwards  produced  very  ill  effects. 

Many  among  the  French,  who  were  unacquainted 
with  the  pitiful  state  of  the  King  of  Spain  and  of  his 
affairs,  could  not  comprehend  why  this  Prince  had 
bought  the  peace  at  so  dear  a  rate  as  the  surrender  of 
six  or  seven  strong  places,  and,  amongst  others,  Calais 
and  Blavet,  which  might  be  called  the  keys  of  France. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Spaniards,  who  saw  that  their 
King  was  dying,  that  his  treasury  was  exhausted,  the 
Low  Countries  shattered  to  pieces,  Portugal  and  his 
estates  in  Italy  on  the  point  of  revolt,  and  that  his 
son,  a  good  prince  in  reality,  was  fond  of  repose,  were 
astonished  that  the  French,  having  so  bravely  retaken 
Amiens,  and  reunited  all  their  forces  after  the  treaty 
with  the  Due  de  Mercoeur,  had  not  pressed  farther 
into  the  Low  Countries,  seeing  that  in  all  appearance 
they  might  either  have  conquered  them  or  at  least 
have  made  breaches  in  them.  The  King  answered 
that,  if  he  had  desired  peace,  it  was  not  because  he 
was  weary  of  the  hardships  of  war,  but  to  give  leave 
to  afflicted  Christendom  to  breathe ;  that  he  knew 
well,  from  the  position  in  which  things  were,  that  he 
might  have  derived  great  advantages,  but  that  God 
often  overturns  princes  in  their  greatest  prosperity ; 
and  that  a  wise  man  ought  never,  out  of  the  opinion 
of  some  favourable  event,  to  be  averse  to  a  good  ac- 


1 


i 


HENRI   IV.  219 

cord,  nor  rely  too  much  upon  the  appearance  of  his 
present  happiness,  which  may  change  hy  a  thousand 
unexpected  accidents,  it  having  often  happened  that 
a  man  who  is  thrown  down  and  wounded  has  killed 
him  who  wanted  to  make  him  beg  for  his  life. 

It  was  known  in  a  little  time  that  King  Philip  II. 
had  more  need  of  the  peace  than  France,  for  his  sick- 
ness increased.  He  suffered,  for  twenty-two  days 
continually,  from  a  perpetual  bloody  flux ;  and  a  lit- 
tle before  his  death  four  abscesses  formed  in  his 
breast,  from  which  proceeded  a  continual  swarm  of 
vermin,  which  all  the  attention  of  his  officers  was 
unable  to  check. 

In  this  strange  sickness,  his  firmness  was  wonder- 
ful ;  nor  did  he  abandon  the  reins  of  government 
until  his  last  breath,  for  he  took  care  before  his 
death  to  arrange  the  marriage  of  his  son  with  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  the  Archduke  of  Gratz ;  and  also 
that  of  his  dear  daughter  Isabella  with  the  Cardinal 
Archduke  Albert,  of  the  same  blood  as  herself,  giving 
him  for  dowry  the  Low  Countries  and  the  county  of 
Burgundy,  on  condition  of  its  reversion  if  he  died 
without  issue. 

He  had  already  signed  the  articles  of  peace  ;  but 
his  mortal  sickness  would  not  permit  him  to  take  the 
oath  to  it  with  the  same  solemnities  as  the  King  and 
Archduke  had  done.  Philip  III.,  his  son  and  succes- 
sor, acquitted  himself  of  this  obligation  on  the  21st  of 


220  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Maj,  1601,  in  the  city  of  Yalladolid,  and  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Comte  de  Rochepot,  ambassador  of  France. 

The  license  of  wars  having  for  many  years  per- 
mitted mischiefs  with  impunity,  there  were  still  to  be 
found  a  great  number  of  vagabonds,  who  believed  it 
was  still  allowed  them  to  take  the  goods  of  others  at 
pleasure ;  and  there  were  others  who  thought  they 
had  the  right  to  do  themselves  justice  by  acts  of  vio- 
lence, not  acknowledging  any  laws  but  force.  This 
obliged  our  wise  King  to  begin  the  reformation  of  the 
State  by  the  reestablishment  of  public  security.  To 
this  effect  he  forbade  the  carrying  of  firearms  to  all 
persons  of  whatever  position,  upon  pain  of  the  confis- 
cation of  their  arms  and  horses,  and  a  fine  of  two 
hundred  crowns  for  the  first  offence,  and  death  for 
the  second ;  permitting  any  one  to  arrest  those  who 
carried  them  except  his  light  horsemen,  his  gens 
d'armes^  and  his  body-gmards,  who  were  allowed  to 
bear  them  only  when  they  were  on  service. 

To  the  same  purpose,  and  to  ease  the  country  of 
the  multitudes  of  the  military,  he  dismissed  not  only 
the  greater  part  of  his  new  troops,  but  likewise  re- 
duced by  half  his  old  ones.  He  reduced  the  com- 
panies of  orderlies  to  a  very  small  number,  and 
abolished  the  guards  of  the  governors  of  the  prov- 
inces, and  lieutenants  of  the  King,  being  unwilling  to 
suffer  any  one  besides  himself  to  have  that  glorious 
mark  of  sovereignty  about  their  persons. 


HENRI  IV.  221 

The  wars  had  spoiled  all  commerce,  reduced  cities 
to  villages,  villages  to  old  ruins,  and  lands  to  deserts; 
nevertheless  the  tax-collectors  constrained  the  poor 
husbandmen  to  pay  taxes  for  those  fruits  they  had 
never  gathered.  The  cries  of  these  miserable  people, 
who  had  nothing  but  their  tongues  to  complain  with, 
touched  to  the  quick  so  just  and  so  good  a  king ;  he 
made  an  edict  by  which  he  released  them  of  all  they 
owed  him  for  the  time  past,  and  led  them  to  expect 
he  would  ease  them  more  for  the  future. 

Moreover,  having  understood  that  during  the  trou- 
bles a  large  number  of  false  nobles  had  been  created, 
who  were  exempted  from  the  tax,i  he  commanded 
that  they  should  be  sought  out;  nor  did  he  confirm 
their  usurpation  for  a  money  consideration,  as  has 
sometimes  been  done,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  other 
persons  liable  to  taxation,  but  he  insisted  that  the  tax 
should  be  reimposed  upon  them,  to  the  end  that  by 
this  means  they  might  assist  the  poor  people  to  bear  a 
good  part  of  the  burden,  as  being  the  richer. 

He  desired  with  much  affection  to  do  good  to  his 
true  nobility,  and  repay  them  those  expenses  they  had 

1  Taille.  Besides  the  personal  services  which  the  corvSe  constituted, 
the  serfs  owed  to  their  lord  presents  in  money  and  in  kind.  The  ancient 
name  given  to  the  pecuniary  fine  was  that  of  cens.  From  the  thirteenth 
century  it  was  replaced  by  the  word  taille,  which  seems  to  have  had  for 
origin  the  custom  that  the  collectors  of  the  said  tax  had  of  marking  upon 
a  piece  of  wood  the  sum  received.  In  many  instances  the  extent  of  this 
charge  on  the  serfs  was  in  proportion  to  the  good  pleasure  of  their  master. 
But  in  some  instances  the  extent  of  the  charge  wa8  regulated  each  year 
in  advance,  and  was  then  called  taille  abormi. 


222  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

been  at  in  his  service  ;  but  his  coffers  were  empty, 
and,  moreover,  all  the  gold  in  Peru  would  not  have 
been  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  appetite  and  luxury  of  so 
many  people.  For  King  Henri  III.  had,  by  his  own 
example  and  that  of  his  favourites,  raised  expenses  so 
high  that  lords  wanted  to  live  like  princes,  and  gentle- 
men like  lords,  for  which  purposes  they  were  forced 
to  alienate  the  possessions  of  their  ancestors,  and 
change  those  old  castles,  the  illustrious  tokens  of 
their  nobility,  into  tinsel,  gilding,  retinue,  and  horses. 
Afterwards,  when  they  were  indebted  beyond  their 
credit,  they  fell  back  either  upon  the  King's  coffers, 
demanding  pensions,  or  on  the  backs  of  the  people, 
fleecing  them  by  a  thousand  robberies.  The  King, 
wishing  to  remedy  this  disorder,  declared  very  stoutly 
to  his  nobility  that  he  desired  them  to  accustom  them- 
selves to  live  every  man  on  his  means,  and  that,  for 
this  purpose,  he  would  be  well  content,  since  they  now 
enjoyed  peace,  that  they  should  go  and  see  their  coun- 
try houses  and  make  their  estates  yield  a  good  return. 
Thus  he  eased  them  of  the  great  and  ruinous  expenses 
of  the  Court,  by  sending  them  back  into  the  provinces, 
and  made  them  understand  that  the  best  capital  they 
could  have  was  that  of  good  management.  Moreover, 
knowing  that  the  French  nobility  prides  itself  upon 
imitating  the  King  in  all  things,  he  showed  them  by 
his  own  example  how  to  do  away  with  all  superfluity 
of  clothing  ;  for  he  ordinarily  wore  a  gray  cloak  with 


HENRI   IV.  223 

a  doublet  of  satin  or  taffeta,  without  slashing,  lace,  or 
embroidery.  He  praised  those  who  were  clad  in  this 
manner,  and  laughed  at  the  others,  who  carried,  he 
said,  their  mills  and  their  woods  and  forests  on  their 
backs. 

About  the  end  of  the  year  he  was  seized  with  a  sud- 
den and  violent  sickness  at  Monceaux.  All  France 
was  affrighted ;  his  life  was  despaired  of,  and  the 
rumours  which  spread  nearly  revived  the  factions ; 
but  in  ten  or  twelve  days  he  was  on  foot  again,  as  if 
God  had  only  sent  him  this  sickness  to  reveal  to  him 
what  evil  intent  there  still  was  in  the  kingdom,  and 
to  give  him  the  satisfaction  of  feeling,  through  the 
sorrow  of  his  people,  the  pleasure  of  being  loved. 

At  the  height  of  his  illness,  he  spoke  to  his  friends 
these  beautiful  words :  "  I  do  not  at  all  fear  death,  for 
I  have  faced  it  in  the  greatest  dangers;  but  I  avow 
that  I  am  unwilling  to  leave  this  life  until  I  have  re- 
stored this  kingdom  to  that  state  of  splendour  which 
1  have  proposed  to  myself,  and  until  I  have  testified 
to  my  people,  by  governing  them  well  and  easing 
them  of  their  many  taxes,  that  I  love  them  as  if  they 
were  my  children." 

After  his  recovery,  continuing  in  his  praiseworthy 
design  of  putting  his  affairs  in  order,  he  came  to  St. 
Germain-en-Laye  to  settle  the  items  of  expenditure  of 
his  household,  as  well  as  for  the  guard  of  frontiers 
and  garrisons,  maintenance  of  forces,  artillery,  naval 


224  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

affairs,  and  many  other  charges.  He  had  then  in  his 
Council  (as  we  may  say  we  have  at  present)  very  great 
men,  and  most  experienced  in  all  sorts  of  matters; 
but  he  still  showed  himself  more  able  and  more  en- 
lightened than  they.  He  examined  and  discussed  all 
the  particulars  of  his  expenditure  with  a  judgment 
and  a  clearness  of  spirit  truly  admirable,  and  he  re- 
trenched and  cut  off  all  that  was  possible,  retaining 
only  what  was  necessary.  Amongst  other  things,  he 
cut  down  the  superfluous  expenses  of  the  tables  in  his 
house,  not  so  much  that  he  might  spare  himself,  as  to 
oblige  his  subjects  to  moderate  their  prodigality  in 
eating  and  drinking,  and  to  hinder  them  from  ruining 
their  whole  houses  by  keeping  too  great  kitchens. 
And  thus,  by  the  example  of  the  King,  which  is 
always  of  more  force  than  the  laws  or  correction, 
luxury  was  soon  converted  into  economy,  very  neces- 
sary for  the  State. 

He  had  chosen  for  his  Council  very  able  and  faith- 
ful ministers,  such  as  Chiverny,  Bellievre,  Sillery, 
Sancy,  Jeannin,  Yilleroy,  and  Rosny.  I  speak  not 
here  at  all  of  his  great  military  advisers,  as  the  Mar^- 
chal  de  Biron,  Lesdiguieres,  Governor  of  Dauphin^, 
the  Due  de  Mayenne,  the  Conn^table  de  Montmo- 
rency, the  Mar^chal  de  la  Chastre,  the  Marechal 
d'Aumont,  Guitry,  La  None,  and  many  others,  of 
whose  services  he  did  not  avail  himself  in  the  admin- 
istration  of  State  affairs,  though  he  often  conversed 


HENRI  IV.  225 

with  them,  and  by  "way  of  compliment  sometimes  com- 
mmiicated  to  them  things  of  consequence,  asking  their 
advice. 

The  Chancellor  de  Chiverny,  who  had  been  raised 
to  this  office  in  the  reign  of  Henri  III.,  was  a  man 
cold,  deceitful,  and  calculating,  but,  as  his  enemies 
said,  he  was  a  much  better  practitioner  than  councillor 
of  state. 

He  died  the  year  following,  and  in  his  place  the 
King  appointed  Pompone  de  Bellidvre,  a  man  per- 
fectly accomplished  in  the  knowledge  of  the  rights 
and  interests  of  France,  and  a  most  expert  negotiator, 
as  he  well  showed  in  the  Treaty  of  Vervins.  He  was 
old  when  the  King  gave  him  this  charge,  and  there- 
fore said  himself  that  he  only  entered  upon  it  to  go 
out  of  it.  He  induced  the  King  to  issue  a  severe  edict 
against  duels ;  he  established  very  good  order  in  the 
Council,  and  ordained  that  none  should  be  received  as 
"  master  of  requests  "  ^  who  had  not  been  ten  whole 
years  in  one  of  the  supreme  companies,  or  sixteen  in 
other  of  the  subordinate  seats. 

Nicolas  Brulard  de  Sillery,  President  of  the  Cap  ia 
the  Parliament  of  Paris,  who  was  his  son-in-law,  and 
who  had  been  his  companion  at  Yervins,  was  of  a  gen- 
tle, easy,  and  affable  disposition,  but  could  see  further 


*  Mattre  des  requStes :  formerly  a  magistrate  who  reported  on  a  man's 
petition  before  the  King's  Council ;  now  one  who  draws  reports  before 
the  Council  of  State  on  all  State  affairs. 


226  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

ahead  than  people  believed.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
pubUc  never  saw  any  emotion  either  in  his  counte- 
nance or  discourse. 

Harlay-Sancy  was  a  man  free,  bold,  and  dauntless, 
■who  feared  no  person  when  it  was  a  question  of  the 
service  of  the  King;  but  he  was  rather  abrupt,  and 
spoke  to  him  too  freely,  as  may  be  seen  by  what  he 
said  concerning  Madame  Gabrielle,  who  knew  how  to 
return  it  to  him. 

As  for  Jeannin,  President  of  the  Parliament  of  Bur- 
gundy, and  Villeroy,  chief  secretary  of  state,  they  had 
both  taken  part  with  the  League,  and  yet  very  profit- 
ably served  both  the  King  and  France,  having  in  what 
they  did  striven  only  for  the  defence  of  the  Catholic 
rehgion,  and  not  out  of  a  spirit  of  faction.  They  had 
hindered  the  Spaniards  from  encroaching  upon  this 
realm,  and  the  Due  de  Mayenne  from  throwing  him- 
self completely  into  their  arms,  as  his  despair  had 
often  inclined  him  to  do.  They  agreed  both  in  this 
point,  that  they  loved  the  State  and  royalty  passion- 
ately, and  that  they  had  great  judgment ;  but,  in  other 
respects,  their  temperaments  were  very  different. 

Jeannin  was  an  old  Gaul,  who  desired  to  manage 
his  affairs  by  ancient  forms,  according  to  the  laws 
and  ordinances,  —  a  good  lawyer,  firm  and  resolute, 
who  went  directly  towards  his  end,  and  who  knew  no 
subtle  turnings  and  windings,  but  entirely  loved  the 
public  good. 


HENRI  IV.  227 

Villeroy  was  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  adroit 
courtiers  that  was  ever  seen.  He  had  a  clear  and 
unprejudiced  mind,  which  would  unravel  with  an 
incredible  facility  the  most  embroiled  affairs,  and 
explain  them  agreeably  and  intelligibly,  and  directed 
them  as  he  pleased.  He  was  wonderfully  active 
withal,  and  most  excellent  in  finding  expedients,  tak- 
ing his  business  by  so  sure  a  hold  that  it  was  difficult 
for  it  to  escape  him. 

The  King  often  conferred  with  these  councillors,  as 
they  were  still  called,  and  not  ministers,  as  they  have 
been  called  since.  He  spoke  to  them  of  his  affairs, 
sometimes  to  be  instructed,  and  sometimes  to  instruct 
them,  which  he  did  either  in  his  study,  or  walking  in 
the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries,  Monceaux,  St.  Germain, 
and  Fontainebleau.  He  discoursed  often  with  them 
apart,  summoning  them  one  after  another ;  and  he 
did  this  either  to  oblige  them  to  speak  to  him  with 
more  liberty,  or  not  to  tell  them  all  together  what  he 
only  wished  to  tell  to  some  particularly,  or  for  some 
other  reason  which  without  doubt  was  due  to  good 
policy.  He  said  that  he  found  none  amongst  them  who 
satisfied  him  like  Villeroy,  and  that  he  could  despatch 
more  business  with  him  in  an  hour  than  with  the 
others  in  a  whole  day. 

As  for  Maximilien  de  B^thune,  Baron  de  Rosny, 
and  afterwards  Due  de  Sully,  he  had  been  brought  up 
with  the  King  in  the  Hug'aenot  religion,  and  the  King 


228  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

had  recognised  his  capacity  and  affection  in  divers 
affairs  of  consequence,  but  above  all,  that  he  had  a 
genius  for  the  good  management  of  finances,  and  that 
he  had  all  the  qualities  requisite  for  that  purpose.  In 
fact,  he  was  a  man  of  good  order,  exact,  a  good 
manager,  and  a  man  who  kept  his  word ;  neither 
prodigal  nor  ostentatious,  nor  inclined  to  vain  follies 
or  expenses,  play,  banquets,  or  any  other  vanity  not 
becoming  to  a  man  entrusted  with  such  an  employ- 
ment. Moreover,  he  was  vigilant,  laborious,  expedi- 
tious, and  one  who  dedicated  almost  his  whole  time  to 
his  affairs,  and  little  to  his  pleasure ;  and  withal,  he 
had  the  gift  of  piercing  into  the  very  bottom  of  mat- 
ters, and  unravelling  those  twistings  and  knots  with 
which  financiers,  when  they  are  not  trusty  and  faith- 
ful, endeavour  to  conceal  their  deceits. 

We  have  already  told  how  the  King  desired  above 
all  things  to  provide  for  economy  in  the  management 
of  his  revenues,  and  the  reasons  for  which  he  had  been 
obliged  to  leave  Francois  d'O  in  the  position  of  super- 
mtendent.  After  this  man  was  dead,  he  gave  that 
office  to  five  or  six  persons,  whom  he  believed  both 
capable  and  honest  men;  he  was  persuaded  that  he 
would  be  better  served  by  them  than  by  one  alone, 
imagining  that  they  would  serve  as  checks  and  con- 
trollers of  one  another.  But  quite  the  contrary 
happened  ;  every  one  threw  the  blame  upon  his  com- 
panion ;  nothing  was  advanced,  and  if  any  of  them 


HENRI  rv.  229 

wanted  to  act,  the  others  did  not  fail  to  cross  him  by 
their  jealousies,  so  that  they  only  agreed  in  this  point, 
that  every  one  looked  that  his  salary  was  well  paid 
him,  which  cost  the  King  six  times  as  much  as  if  he 
had  had  only  one  superintendent,  whilst  he  drew  no 
profit  from  this  multitude. 

When  he  discovered  that  so  many  people  only  con- 
fused his  finances,  he  returned  them  again  into  the 
hands  of  one  man,  and  this  was  Sancy.  But  a  short 
time  after,  finding  him  more  proper  for  other  employ- 
ments than  that,  he  gave  him  Rosny  for  a  companion, 
afterwards  making  Rosny  alone  superintendent. 

Rosny,  before  he  entered  upon  this  office,  had  pro- 
vided himself  with  all  the  knowledge  necessary  to 
acquit  himseK  well  of  it;  he  knew  perfectly  all  the 
revenues  of  the  kingdom,  and  all  the  expenses  which 
were  necessary.  He  communicated  all  he  knew  to  the 
King,  who  on  his  part  had  likewise  studied  all  these 
things  so  thoroughly  that  a  hundred  crowns  could  not 
be  laid  out  but  he  would  know  whether  it  were  well 
or  ill  employed.  As  it  is  to  the  advantage  of  an 
unfaithful  steward  that  his  master  should  be  ignorant 
and  make  no  inspection  into  his  affairs,  so  it  is  to  that 
of  a  true  and  faithful  servant  that  he  should  be  well 
instructed,  and  clearly  see  them,  in  order  that  he  may 
know  how  worthily  to  esteem  his  ser\'ices. 

Besides,  his  temperament  agreed  perfectly  well  with 
that  of  the  King.     When  he  trusted  him  with  his  rev- 


230  HISTORIC   COURT  I^IEMOIRS. 

enues,  he  desired  him  that  he  would  never  take  even  a 
bottle  of  wine  or  the  smallest  present  without  telling 
him.  And  when  Rosny  did  tell  him  of  it,  he  imme- 
diately consented  to  it,  and  likewise  was  so  glad  that 
in  serving  him  well  he  found  his  reward,  that  often- 
times he  added  gifts  of  his  own,  to  give  him  courage 
to  serve  him  still  better  and  better.  But  Rosny  never 
received  them  till  they  were  duly  ratified  in  the  Cham- 
ber of  Accounts,  so  that  all  the  world  might  know  the 
liberality  of  the  King  towards  him,  and  that  he  might 
not  be  reproached  with  making  use  of  his  favour  to 
drain  his  coffers. 

Under  the  administration  of  this  superintendent, 
the  first  law  which  the  King  made  concerning  affairs 
of  this  nature  was  the  immutable  constancy  of  their 
ordering,  which  was  never  to  alter,  after  it  was  once 
agi-eed  and  concluded  on ;  for  as  the  most  desperate 
things  are  by  good  order  redressed  by  a  firm  and  de- 
cided manner  of  action,  so  the  best  established  and 
most  assured  become  dispersed  under  a  light  head, 
which  does,  undoes,  and  does  again  without  ceasing, 
and  which  on  the  morrow  revokes  what  it  commanded 
to-day. 

Rosny  soon  gave  indubitable  proofs  of  his  capacity, 
for  having  visited  only  four  generalities,^  he  in  a  short 

1  A  general  place  for  receipt  of  revenues,  of  whicli  there  are  twenty 
in  France,  viz. :  Paris,  Rouen,  Caen,  Nantes,  Tours,  Bruges,  Poitiers, 
Agen,  Toulouse,  Montpellier,  Aix,  Grenoble,  Lyons,  Dijon,  Chalons, 
Amiens,  Orleans,  Limoges,  Soissons,  and  Moulins.  —  Tb. 


HENRI  IV.  231 

time  got  in  a  million  and  a  half  of  money  which  was 
in  arrears ;  and  after  the  capture  of  Amiens  by  the 
Spaniards,  he  readily  found  money  to  raise  a  great 
army  and  furnish  the  expense  of  the  siege,  so  that  he 
was  one  of  the  principal  instruments  in  the  recovery 
of  that  great  city. 

It  is  well  to  take  notice  of  an  expedient  which, 
amongst  others,  he  discovered  to  hinder  the  pilfer- 
ings  of  the  tax-gatherers,  for  that  is  necessary  at  all 
times.  He  knew  that  there  were  some  persons  in  the 
King's  Council  who  were  in  collusion  with  the  trai- 
tants  1  and  farmers,  who  caused  the  farms  and  duties 
to  be  adjudged  to  the  Council  at  a  low  price,  and 
often  caused  them  to  be  given  to  them  at  a  great 
reduction.  To  hinder,  therefore,  these  people  from 
eating  the  cake  amongst  them,  he  stopped  the  hands 
of  the  general  farmers,  forbidding  the  under-farmers 
to  pay  them  anything,  but  themselves  to  bring  the 
money  of  their  under-farms  into  the  exchequer.  He 
doubled  by  this  means  the  revenues  of  the  King,  for 
the  under-farms  and  under-rents  were  found  to  be 
greater  by  almost  two-thirds  than  the  general  rents 
and  leases. 

The  members  of  the  Coimcil  and  the  collectors  at 
first  exclaimed  loudly  against  his  conduct ;  they  laid 
snares  everywhere  for  him,  and  caused  him  a  thou- 

1  The  f  annera  of  certain  branches  of  the  revenue  under  the  old  French 
monarchy. 


232  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

sand  troubles  ;  but  in  time  he  brought  them  to  reason. 
Likewise  all  those  who  had  no  right  to  demand  any- 
thing of  him,  and  who  ceased  not  to  importune  him, 
when  they  could  get  nothing  from  him,  stormed 
against  his  hardness ;  but  he  cared  not  for  their  idle 
wrath ;  he  only  wished  legally  to  pay  the  debts  of  the 
King,  and  readily  to  pay  what  was  ordained  for  good 
ends,  for  he  did  not  know  what  it  was  to  be  asked  a 
hundred  times  for  that  which  was  truly  due. 

We  have  lingered  somewhat  the  longer  on  this 
point  of  the  revenues,  because  it  is  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all ;  that  by  which  all  things  are  done,  and 
without  which  nothing  can  be  done,  on  which  depends 
either  the  ease  or  the  oppression  of  the  people  and 
the  good  or  ill  success  of  all  designs  or  enterprises. 

Our  Henri  at  the  same  time  would  have  liked  to 
take  care  for  the  reformation  of  the  clergy,  which  in 
truth  was  in  great  disorder,  as  well  in  temporal  mat- 
ters —  its  goods  having  been  usurped  during  the  wars 
by  the  Huguenots  and  wicked  Catholics  —  as  in  spir- 
itual, the  greater  part  of  both  prelates  and  pastors 
being  as  ignorant  as  depraved ;  but  he  could  not  yet 
apply  suitable  remedies.  The  necessity  to  which  he 
was  driven,  of  recompensing  those  who  had  well 
served  him,  constrained  him  to  tolerate  abuses,  and 
even  to  commit  them,  disposing  of  benefices  as  for- 
merly Charles  Martel  had  done ;  for  he  gave  them  to 
unfit  persons,  to  married  men,  to  soldiers,  to  children, 


HENRI   IV.  233 

and  even  to  women,  to  compensate  them  for  the  loss 
of  their  husbands  killed  or  ruined  in  his  service. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  excuse  this  fault ;  for  there 
can  never  be  any  lawful  reason  given  for  the  prostitu- 
tion of  the  goods  of  the  sanctuary  to  the  use  of  the 
profane,  or  employing  the  treasures  of  the  Cross  in 
other  services  than  that  of  the  altar.  I  know  well 
that  many  ecclesiastics  themselves  act  otherwise,  but 
who  doubts  these  people  to  be  worse  than  those  Jews 
who  played  at  dice  upon  the  holy  robe  of  Jesus 
Christ? 

About  the  end  of  this  year,  the  general  assembly  of 
the  clergy  was  held  at  Paris,  and  it  drew  up  a  remon- 
strance to  the  King,  by  which  the  prelates  prayed 
him  to  cause  the  Council  of  Trent  to  be  published  in 
France ;  not  to  charge  his  conscience  with  the  nom- 
ination to  bishoprics,  abbacies,  and  other  benefices 
having  the  charge  of  souls ;  not  to  give  any  laymen 
the  right  to  draw  upon  benefices ;  not  to  permit 
churches  and  holy  places  to  be  profaned  as  they  then 
were,  but  to  see  that  they  were  repaired  and  divine 
service  reestablished. 

As  regards  the  Council  of  Trent,  it  must  be  under- 
stood that  it  was  received  in  France  as  affects  those 
Articles  concerning  the  faith,  but  not  generally  as  to 
those  which  concerned  policy  and  discipline,  because 
it  seemed  to  many  that  these  last  were  for  the  most 
part  contrary  to  the  liberty  of  the  Galilean  Church 


234  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

and  the  rights  of  the  King.  For  which  reasons, 
whatever  endeavours  the  zealous  have  made,  they 
could  never  bring  about  its  reception,  the  Parliaments 
having  always  strongly  opposed  it. 

To  the  harang-ue  of  the  clergy,  the  King  eloquently 
answered,  but  in  few  words,  that  he  acknowledged 
what  they  had  said  concerning  the  nomination  of 
benefices  was  true,  but  that  he  was  not  the  author  of 
that  abuse ;  that,  having  come  to  the  crown  during 
the  flames  of  a  civil  war,  he  had  run  wherever  he 
beheld  the  greatest  fire,  to  extinguish  it;  that,  now 
that  he  had  peace,  he  would  endeavour  again  to  raise 
up  those  two  pillars  of  France,  piety  and  justice ; 
that,  God  willing,  he  would  restore  the  Church  to  as 
good  an  estate  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Louis  XII. 
"  But,"  said  he,  "  contribute,  I  pray  you,  on  your 
side ;  let  your  good  examples  as  much  incite  the  peo- 
ple to  do  good  as  they  have  been  heretofore  diverted. 
You  have  exhorted  me  to  my  duty,  and  I  exhort  you 
to  yours ;  let  us  emulate  one  another  in  this.  My 
predecessors  have  given  you  fair  words,  but  I  with 
my  gray  jacket  will  give  you  good  deeds.  I  am  all 
gray  without,  but  you  shall  find  me  gold  within.  I 
will  see  your  note-books  (caJiiers)  and  answer  them  as 
favourably  as  I  possibly  can." 

All  his  prudence  and  all  his  address  were  not  too 
much  to  teach  him  to  govern  himself  so  that  both 
the  Catholics  and  Pope   might  be  content  with  his 


HENKI   IV.  235 

conduct,  and  the  Huguenots  have  no  cause  to  be 
alarmed  or  form  themselves  into  cantons.  His  duty 
and  his  conscience  inclined  him  to  the  assistance  of 
the  first ;  but  reasons  of  state,  and  the  great  obliga- 
tions he  had  to  the  last,  did  not  permit  him  to  make 
them  despair.  To  keep,  therefore,  a  necessary  bal- 
ance, he  granted  them  an  edict  more  ample  than  the 
preceding  one.  It  was  called  "  The  Edict  of  Nantes," 
because  it  was  concluded  the  year  before  (April  13, 
1598)  in  that  city  whilst  he  was  there.  By  this 
he  granted  them  all  liberty  for  the  exercise  of  their 
religion,  and  likewise  liberty  to  be  admitted  to  charges, 
hospitals,  and  colleges,  and  to  have  schools  in  certain 
places,  and  the  right  of  preaching  everywhere ;  and 
many  other  things,  of  which  they  were  afterwards 
deprived  by  reason  of  their  rebellions  and  other 
misdeeds. 

The  Parliament  strongly  opposed  this  edict  for 
more  than  a  year ;  but  in  the  end,  when  they  were 
made  to  understand  that  not  to  accord  security  to 
the  Huguenots,  who  were  both  powerful  and  quarrel- 
some, would  be  to  kindle  war  afresh  in  the  kingdom, 
they  confirmed  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  quiet  the  Pope,  who  might 
be  annoyed  at  this  edict,  the  King  showed  him  all 
possible  manner  of  respect,  and  strenuously  embraced 
his  interests,  as  appeared  in  the  affair  of  Ferrara,  in 
the  years  1597  and  1598. 


236  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

This  duchy  is  a  fief  male  of  the  holy  see,  with 
which  the  Popes  had  formerly  invested  the  nobles  of 
the  House  of  Este,  with  provision  for  its  reversion  in 
default  of  legitimate  male  issue.  Alphonso  d'Este, 
second  of  that  name,  and  last  Duke,  died  in  the  year 
1597,  without  children,  and  had  left  great  treasures 
to  Cesare  d'Este,  bastard  of  the  first  Alphonso,  his 
kinsman.  He  had  done  all  he  possibly  could  to 
obtain  the  investiture  of  the  duchy  on  this  bastard, 
who,  although  not  able  to  obtain  it,  nevertheless 
took  possession  of  it  after  the  death  of  the  second 
Alphonso,  resolving  to  maintain  it  by  force  of  arms. 
Clement  VIII.  was  obliged  to  make  war  against  him 
to  dispossess  him.  The  princes  of  Italy  took  part  in 
the  quarrel,  and  the  Dues  de  Guise  and  de  Nemours 
were  upon  the  point  of  undertaking  the  defence  of 
Cesare,  whose  near  kinsmen  they  were,  being  the  sons 
of  Anne  d'Este,  daughter  of  Hercules  II.,  Duke  of  Fer- 
rara,  and  Madame  Rende  de  France  ;  Anne  in  her  first 
marriage  having  espoused  Fran9ois,  Due  de  Guise, 
and,  in  her  second,  Jacques,  Due  de  Nemours.  The 
King  of  Spain  likewise  secretly  favoured  Cesare,  not 
desiring  that  the  Pope  should  grow  greater  in  Italy 
by  reacquiring  that  duchy.  But  Henri  the  Great 
was  not  backward  in  taking  this  occasion  to  offer 
his  sword  and  his  forces  to  the  Holy  Father.  The 
allies,  knowing  this,  were  extremely  disheartened,  and 
Cesare  was   constrained   to    come  to   a  compromise 


HEiVRI  IV.  237 

witli  the  Pope,  to  whom  he  surrendered  all  the  duchy 
of  Ferrara.  There  remained  to  him  only  the  cities 
of  Modena  and  Reggia,  which  the  Emperor  main- 
tained to  be  fief  of  the  Empire,  and  of  which  he 
gave  him  the  investiture,  whence  come  the  present 
Dulvcs  of  Modena. 

If  the  fervour  which  the  King  testified  on  this 
occasion  for  the  interests  of  the  holy  see  sensibly 
obliged  the  Pope,  the  care  which  he  daily  took  to 
bring  back  the  Huguenots  into  the  bosom  of  the 
Church  was  no  less  agreeable  to  him.  He  acted 
to  this  purpose  in  such  a  manner  that,  from  day  to 
day,  many  of  the  greatest  understanding  and  the 
best  quality  were  converted.  But  what  was  more 
important  was  his  taking  the  young  Prince  de  Condd 
from  the  hands  of  the  Huguenots,  who  had  kept  him 
diligently  at  St.  Jean  d'Angely  ever  since  the  death 
of  his  father,  which  happened  in  the  year  1587,  and 
brought  him  up  in  the  false  religion,  with  great  hope 
of  making  him  one  day  their  chief  and  protector. 
The  King,  considering  that  it  would  be  both  preju- 
dicial to  the  safety  of  the  yomig  Prince  and  to  his 
own  interests  to  leave  him  longer  there,  knew  so 
well  how  to  gain  the  chief  men  of  the  party  that  they 
suffered  him  to  be  brought  to  Court;  and  he  gave 
him  as  tutor  Jean,  Marquis  de  Pisani,  a  nobleman 
of  rare  merit,  and  of  wisdom  without  reproach,  who 
forgot  not  to  instruct  him  well  in  the  Catholic  re- 


238  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

ligioii  and  in  the  truest  sentiments  of  honour  and 
virtue.  He  was  then  but  seven  or  eight  years  old. 
When  he  reached  his  ninth  year,  the  King  gave  him 
the  government  of  Guienne,  loving  him  tenderly  and 
cherishing  him  as  his  presumptive  successor. 

During  this  time  of  peace  nothing  was  spoken  of 
but  rejoicings,  feasts,  and  marriages.  That  of  the 
Infanta  of  Spain,  Isabella  Clara  Eugenie,  and  of  the 
Archduke  Albert,  was  solemnised  in  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, and  that  of  ]Madame  Catherine,  sister  of  the 
King,  with  Henri,  Due  de  Bar,  eldest  son  of  Charles 
II.,  Due  de  Lorraine,  at  Paris. 

Catherine  was  forty  years  of  age,  and  more  agree- 
able than  fair,  having  one  leg  a  little  short.  She  was 
very  clever,  loved  learning,  and  knew  much  for  a 
woman,  but  was  an  obstinate  Huguenot.  The  King 
feared  lest  she  should  marry  some  Protestant  prince, 
who  by  this  means  might  become  the  protector  of  the 
Huguenots,  and  be  like  another  king  in  France.  For 
this  reason  he  gave  her  to  the  Due  de  Bar ;  thinking, 
moreover,  to  gain  more  credit  among  the  Catholics  by 
allying  himself  with  the  House  of  Lorraine.  Before 
this  he  had  used  all  possible  means  to  convert  her, 
even  to  the  employment  of  threats ;  but  not  being  able 
to  succeed,  he  said  one  day  to  the  Due  de  Bar,  "  My 
brother,  it  is  you  who  must  vanquish  her." 

There  was  some  difficulty  about  the  place  and  the 
ceremony  of  celebration  of  this  marriage  ;  the  Duke 


HENRI   IV.  239 

wanted  it  performed  at  the  church,  and  the  Princess 
by  a  Huguenot  minister.  The  King  found  a  middle 
course.  He  caused  it  to  take  place  in  his  closet, 
whither  he  led  his  sister  by  the  hand,  and  com- 
manded his  natural  brother,  who  had  for  about  two 
years  been  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  to  marry  them. 
This  new  Archbishop  at  first  refused  to  perform  the 
ceremony,  alleging  the  canons  were  against  it,  but 
the  King  representing  to  him  that  his  closet  was  a 
consecrated  place,  and  that  his  presence  supplied  the 
want  of  all  solemnities,  the  poor  Archbishop  had  no 
longer  the  power  to  resist  him. 

This  marriage  being  made  for  the  good  of  the  Cath- 
olic religion,  it  seemed  that  the  Pope  should  have  been 
content.  Nevertheless,  not  willing  to  suffer  an  ill  that 
a  good  might  come  of  it,  he  declared  that  the  Due  de 
Bar  had  incurred  excommunication  for  having  without 
the  dispensation  of  the  Church  contracted  a  marriage 
with  a  heretic ;  nor  could  the  Duke,  whatever  entrea- 
ties he  made,  obtain  absolution.  It  was  necessary  for 
God  to  lend  his  hand.  This  Princess  died  three  years 
after,  with  sadness  and  melancholy  at  seeing  herself 
live  in  a  discontented  manner  with  her  husband,  who 
daily  pressed  her  to  turn  Catholic. 

Besides  the  solemnities  of  these  marriages,  many 
other  things  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Court.  Two 
notable  conversions  —  one  of  the  Due  de  Joyeuse,  the 
other  of  the  Marquise  de  Belleisle  —  caused  it  aston- 
ishment. 


240  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  Due  de  Joyeuse,  who  had  quitted  the  habit  of 
Capuchin  to  become  chief  of  the  League  in  Languedoc, 
one  day,  without  saying  anything  to  anybody,  retired 
to  his  convent  at  Paris,  and  resumed  the  habit.  A 
few  days  after,  there  was  much  astonishment  at  seeing 
him  whom  they  had  seen  the  week  before  dancing  at 
balls,  as  one  of  the  most  gallant,  preach  in  the  pulpit 
in  that  habit  of  penitence.  It  was  said  that  the  holy 
exhortations  of  his  mother,  who  from  time  to  time 
reminded  him  of  his  vow,  and  some  ambiguous  words 
which  the  King  had  thrown  out  in  conversation  with 
him,  made  him  think  that  he  could  no  longer  live  in 
the  world  either  with  safety  of  conscience  or  with 
honour. 

The  Marquise  de  Belleisle,  sister  to  the  Due  de 
Longueville,  and  widow  of  the  Marquis  de  Belleisle, 
eldest  son  of  the  Mar^chal  de  Retz,  having  received 
some  secret  annoyance,  renounced  likewise  the  world, 
and  went  and  shut  herself  up  in  the  convent  of  the 
Feuillantines  at  Toulouse,  where  she  took  the  veil  and 
ended  her  days. 

After  this,  news  came  to  the  Court  that  Phillipin, 
bastard  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  was  killed  in  a  duel  by 
the  Seigneur  de  Crdquy,  of  whom  it  might  be  without 
flattery  said  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  gallant  and 
brave  men  of  his  time.  The  history  of  this  combat 
may  be  found  written  in  so  many  places,  and  is 
yet  so  firm  in  the  memory   of  all  those  who  wear 


HENRI   IV.  241 

swords,  that  it  would  be  superfluous  to  recount  the 
details. 

The  chase  was  now  the  King's  ordinary  diversion. 
It  is  recounted  that,  while  hunting  in  the  forest  of 
Fontainebleau,  accompanied  by  many  lords,  he  heard 
a  great  noise  of  horns,  huntsmen,  and  dogs,  which 
seemed  to  be  a  long  way  off,  but  all  at  once  ap- 
proached them.  Some  of  his  company  who  were 
twenty  paces  in  front  of  him  saw  a  great  black 
man  among  the  bushes,  who  alarmed  them  so  much 
that  they  could  not  tell  what  became  of  him ;  but 
they  heard  him  cry  out  to  them  with  a  frightful  voice, 
^'■M'attendez-vousf^^  or,  ^^M'entendez-vousF^'  or,  ^^Amen- 
dez-vous;'^  that  is,  "Do  you  expect  me?"  or  "Do 
you  understand  me?"  or  else,  "  Amend  yourselves." 
The  woodmen  and  country-people  thereabouts  said 
that  it  was  no  extraordinary  thing,  for  they  had  often 
seen  this  black  man,  whom  they  named  the  "  Great 
Hunter,"  with  a  pack  of  hounds  which  hunted  at  full 
cry,  but  never  did  any  harm. 

Numberless  accounts  are  told  in  all  countries  in 
the  world  of  like  illusions  in  regard  to  such  hunters. 
If  we  give  any  credit  to  them,  we  may  believe  them 
either  to  be  the  tricks  of  sorcerers,  or  of  some  evil 
spirits  to  whom  God  gives  permission  to  convince  the 
incredulous,  and  make  them  see  that  there  are  sub- 
stances apart  from  and  a  being  above  man. 

Now  if  prodigies  are  signs,  as  some  have  said,  of 


242  HISTORIC   COURT  IMEMOIRS. 

great  and  awful  events,  it  may  be  believed  tliat  this 
presaged  the  strange  death  of  the  fair  Gabrielle,  which 
happened  some  days  after  (April,  1599).  The  love 
which  the  King  had  for  her,  instead  of  being  extin- 
guished by  enjoyment,  had  become  so  strong  that 
she  had  ventured  to  demand  of  him  that  he  should 
acknowledge  his  fault  and  legitimise  his  children  by 
a  subsequent  marriage ;  and  he  was  not  able  abso- 
lutely to  refuse  her  this  grace,  but  entertained  her 
still  with  hopes. 

Those  who  love  the  glory  of  this  great  King  can 
with  difficulty  believe  that  he  would  have  done  such  an 
action,  which  without  doubt  would  have  caused  a  low 
opinion  of  him,  and  levelled  against  him  his  people's 
hatred.  However,  it  was  to  be  feared  that  the  allm-e- 
ments  of  this  woman,  who  had  found  his  weakness, 
added  to  the  flattery  of  the  courtiers,  whom  she  had 
gained  either  by  presents  or  kindnesses,  might  en- 
gage this  poor  Prince  to  dishonour.  And  without 
dissembling,  he  had  his  soul  too  tender  towards 
women.  He  was  master  of  all  his  other  passions,  but 
he  was  a  slave  to  this ;  nor  can  his  memory  be  justi- 
fied from  this  reproach,  for  although  admirable  in  aU 
other  parts  of  his  life,  he  ought  not  to  be  imitated  in 
this. 

In  the  meantime  Gabrielle,  still  fiatteruig  herself 
with  the  hope  of  shortly  becoming  his  wife,  in  conse- 
quence  of   those  hopes  he   himself   had    given   her, 


HENRI   IV.  243 

managed  so  well  that  she  obliged  him  to  demand  of 
the  Pope  commissioners  to  try  the  divorce  between 
him  and  Queen  Marguerite.  The  King,  in  order  that 
he  might  find  favour  with  the  Holy  Father,  and 
render  him  more  favourable  to  his  intentions,  caused 
it  to  be  said  secretly,  by  Sillery,  his  ambassador,  that 
he  would  many  Maria  de'  Medici,  his  niece,  sister  to 
the  Duke  of  Florence,  for  whom  nevertheless  it  was 
believed  that  he  had  not  then  any  desire. 

And  the  Pope,  whether  he  distrusted  his  intention, 
or  whether  he  saw  that  Queen  Marguerite  did  not  en- 
courage it,  protracted  the  business,  and  returned  only 
ambiguous  answers.  It  was  likewise  said  that,  being 
one  day  much  pressed  by  the  Cardinal  d'Ossat  and  by 
Sillery  to  give  consent  to  their  master,  or  else,  they 
said,  he  may  go  further,  and  espouse  the  Duchess,  he 
was  so  astonished  at  these  words  that  he  immediately 
remitted  the  conduct  of  this  affair  to  the  hands  of 
God,  and  commanded  a  fast  throughout  the  city  of 
Rome,  while  he  himself  prayed,  asking  God  to  inspire 
him  with  what  should  be  best  for  his  glory  and  for 
the  good  of  France  ;  that  at  the  end  of  his  prayer  he 
cried  out  in  ecstasy,  "  God  hath  provided !  "  and  that 
a  few  days  after  there  arrived  a  courier  at  Rome, 
bringing  news  of  the  death  of  the  Duchess. 

In  the  meantime  the  King  grew  impatient  at  these 
delays ;  and  it  was  to  be  feared  lest  resentment  at 
being  neglected  should  cause  the  same  inconveniences 


244  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

to  him  as  formerly  to  Henry  YIII.,  King  of  England, 
or  lest  by  the  counsel  of  some  flatterers,  forcing  the 
goodness  of  his  nature,  he  should  be  persuaded  to  rid 
himself  of  Queen  Marguerite  by  whatever  means  he 
could. 

Gabrielle  was  at  that  time  great  with  her  fourth 
child,  when,  the  feast  of  Easter  approaching,  and  the 
King  desiring  to  perform  his  devotions  for  that  holy 
season  far  from  all  object  of  scandal,  he  sent  her  to 
Paris,  accompanying  her  just  half-way.  She  with  no 
small  grief  parted  from  him,  recommending  to  him 
her  children  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  as  if  she  had 
some  secret  presentiment,  telling  him  that  she  should 
never  see  him  again. 

At  Paris  she  lodged  in  the  house  of  Zamet,  the 
famous  treasurer.  After  having  dined  with  him,  and 
heard  Tenehres  ^  at  St.  Antoine's  (being  Holy  Thurs- 
day), on  her  return,  while  walking  in  the  garden,  she 
was  struck  with  apoplexy  of  the  brain.  The  first 
attack  of  it  having  passed,  she  would  no  longer  stay 
in  that  house,  but  caused  herself  to  be  carried  to  that 
of  Madame  de  Sourdis,  her  aunt,  near  St.  Germain 
I'Auxerrois.  All  the  rest  of  that  day  and  the  mor- 
row she  suffered  from  swoonings  and  convulsions,  of 
which  she  died  on  the  Saturday  morning. 

The  causes  of  her  death  were  variously  related ; 

1  A  service  in  the  Roman  Church  used  three  days  before  Easter,  and 
called  les  trois  jours  de  tinebres. 


HEN^RI   IV.  245 

but,  however,  it  was  a  happiness  to  France,  since  it 
deprived  the  King  of  an  object  for  which  he  was 
about  to  lose  both  himself  and  his  estate.  His  grief 
was  as  great  as  his  love  had  been ;  yet  he,  not  being 
one  of  those  feeble  souls  who  please  themselves  in 
perpetuating  their  sorrows  and  in  bathing  themselves 
in  their  tears,  not  only  received  consolation,  but 
sought  it,  although  still  preserving  for  the  children, 
and  particularly  for  the  Due  de  Yend8me,  that  af- 
fection he  had  borne  the  mother. 

All  good  Frenchmen  earnestly  desired  that  so  good 
a  King  might  leave  legitimate  children.  They  dared 
not  press  him  to  take  a  wife  who  would  bear  him 
children  as  long  as  Gabrielle  lived,  for  fear  lest  he 
should  espouse  her,  and  for  the  same  reason  Queen 
Marguerite  would  not  give  her  consent  to  the  dissolu- 
tion of  his  marriage.  But  when  Gabrielle  was  dead 
she  willingly  lent  her  hand  to  it,  and  herself  addressed 
a  request  to  the  Holy  Father  to  demand  the  dissolu- 
tion, adducing  two  principal  reasons  for  nullity.  The 
first  was  the  want  of  consent,  for  she  alleged  she  had 
been  forced  to  it  by  King  Charles  IX.,  her  brother  ; 
the  second  was  the  proximity  of  kindred  (they  being 
related  in  the  third  degree),  for  which,  she  said,  there 
had  never  been  any  valid  dispensation. 

In  like  manner  the  nobles  of  the  kingdom  and  the 
Parliament  besought  his  Majesty  by  solemn  deputa- 
tions that  he  would  think  of  taking  a  wife,  represent- 


246  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

ing  to  him  the  inconveniences  and  the  danger  in  which 
France  would  be  if  he  should  die  without  children. 
These  deputations  will  not  seem  strange  to  those  who 
know  our  ancient  history,  where  it  may  be  seen  that 
neither  the  King  nor  his  children  married  except  by 
the  advice  of  his  barons,  and  this  passed  at  that  time 
almost  for  a  fundamental  law  of  the  State. 

The  King,  touched  with  these  just  supplications  of 
his  subjects,  addressed  his  request  to  the  Pope,  con- 
taining the  same  reasons  as  that  of  Queen  Marguerite, 
and  charged  the  Cardinal  d'Ossat  and  Sillery,  his  am- 
bassador extraordinary,  whom  he  had  sent  to  Rome 
to  obtain  the  judgment  of  the  Pope  concerning  the 
restitution  of  the  marquisate  of  Saluces,  to  push  on 
this  affair  instantly. 

The  cause  having  been  reported  to  the  consistory, 
the  Pope  gave  commission  to  the  prelates  to  judge  it 
in  France,  according  to  the  rights  of  that  Crown,  which 
do  not  permit  Frenchmen  to  be  transported  for  such 
affairs  beyond  the  mountains,  whither  it  would  be  al- 
most impossible  to  bring  the  necessary  proofs  and  wit- 
nesses. These  prelates  were  the  Cardinal  de  Joyeuse, 
the  Pope's  nuncio,  and  the  Archbishop  of  Aries,  who 
having  examined  both  parties  and  seen  the  proofs  pro- 
duced on  each  side,  together  with  the  request  of  the 
three  Estates  of  the  kingdom,  declared  this  marriage 
null,  and  permitted  them  to  marry  whom  they  should 
think  fit. 


HENRI   IV.  247 

Queen  Marguerite,  who  many  years  previously  had 
left  the  King  and  voluntarily  shut  herself  up  in  the 
strong  castle  of  Usson,  in  Auvergne,  had  now  per- 
mission to  come  to  Paris,  money  given  her  to  pay 
her  debts,  great  pensions,  the  possession  of  the  duchy 
of  Yalois,  with  some  other  lands,  and  tlie  right  to 
retain  the  title  of  Queen.  She  lived  fifteen  years 
longer,  and  built  a  palace  near  Pr^-aux-Clercs,  which 
was  afterwards  sold  to  pay  off  her  debts,  and  pulled 
down  to  build  other  houses.  She  was  very  fond  of 
good  musicians,  having  a  delicate  ear,  and  also  of 
wise  and  eloquent  men,  because  she  was  of  a  fine 
intellect  and  very  agreeable  in  her  discourse.  For 
the  rest,  she  was  liberal  even  to  prodigality,  pompous, 
and  magnificent,  but  she  did  not  know  what  it  was  to 
pay  her  debts.  This  is  without  doubt  the  greatest  of 
all  a  prince's  faults,  because  there  is  nothing  so  much 
against  justice,  of  which  he  ought  to  be  the  protector 
and  example. 

The  marriage  being  dissolved,  Bellievre  and  Villeroy 
(fearing  lest  the  King  should  engage  himself  in  new 
loves  and  be  taken  in  those  snares  which  the  fairest 
of  the  Court  laid  for  him)  persuaded  him  by  many 
great  reasons  of  state  to  fix  his  thoughts  on  Maria 
de'  Medici,  who  was  daughter  to  Francis  and  niece 
to  Ferdinand,  Grand  Dukes  of  Tuscany 

The  Cardinal  d'Ossat  and  Sillery  made  known  his 
intention  to  the  Grand  Duke  Ferdinand,  her  uncle; 


248 


HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 


and  Alincourt,  son  to  Villeroy,  whom  Henri  had  sent 
to  thank  the  Holy  Father  for  his  speedy  justice  touch- 
ing the  aforesaid  dissolution  of  his  marriage,  had 
orders  to  testify  to  him  that  the  King,  among  all 
the  daughters  of  the  sovereign  houses  of  Christen- 
dom, had  found  no  princess  more  agreeable  to  him. 
The  business  was  managed  with  so  much  activity  and 
vigilance  by  those  who  had  undertaken  it  that  the 
King  found  himself  finally  engaged.  The  contract  of 
marriage  was  signed  at  Florence  by  his  ambassadors, 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1600,  and  Alincourt  in  seven 
days  brought  him  the  news  to  Fontainebleau.  He 
was  at  that  time  assisting  at  the  famous  conference  or 
dispute  between  David  du  Perron,  Bishop  of  Evreaux, 
afterwards  Cardinal,  and  Philippe  du  Plessis  Mornay, 
at  which  truth  nobly  triumphed  over  falsehood. 

The  solemnities  at  Florence,  the  magnificence  of 
the  Grand  Duke,  the  ceremonies  of  the  afiiancing  and 
marriage  of  this  Queen,  of  her  embarking,  her  being 
convoyed  by  the  galleys  of  Malta  and  Florence,  and 
her  reception  at  Marseilles,  at  A"^igiion,  and  at  Lyons, 
have  all  been  related  elsewhere,  and  therefore  I  shall 
speak  nothing  of  them. 

Whilst  the  marriage  was  being  arranged  at  Flor- 
ence, the  King,  having  a  heart  which  could  for  no 
long  time  keep  its  liberty,  became  enslaved  to  a  new 
object. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  Marie  Touchet,  who  had 


HENRI  IV.  249 

been  mistress  to  Charles  IX.,  and  whose  son  was  the 
Comte  d'Auvergne,  had  been  married  to  the  Seigneur 
d'Entragues,  and  had  by  him  many  children,  amongst 
them  a  very  fair  daughter  named  Henriette,  who  was 
consequently  sister  on  the  mother's  side  to  the  Comte 
d'Auvergne.  This  Count  was  then  about  thirty  years 
old,  and  she  about  eighteen. 

It  is  but  too  well  known  that  flatterers  and  cow- 
ardly  sycophants  ruin  every  one  in  the  Courts  of  great 
men,  and  also  corrupt  their  persons.  It  is  these  who 
sweeten  the  poison,  who  embolden  the  prince  to  do  ill, 
who  make  him  familiar  with  vice,  who  seek  and  facili- 
tate occasions  for  it,  and  who  act,  as  we  may  say,  the 
part  of  Satan  and  the  tempter.  It  is  impossible  to 
purge  Courts  of  these  plagues ;  they  insinuate  them- 
selves, in  spite  of  the  utmost  endeavours,  into  the 
palaces  of  the  great ;  they  render  themselves  agreeable 
by  new  diversions,  gain  the  ear  by  flattering  praises, 
by  pleasant  and  well-devised  fables  and  great  false- 
hoods; and  when  they  have  gained  their  entrance, 
they  envenom  the  hearts  and  poison  the  souls  of  the 
most  innocent. 

Our  Henri,  great  prince  as  he  was,  had  such  people 
near  him,  who,  knowing  his  weakness  as  to  women, 
instead  of  fortifying  him  against  it  and  restraining 
him  like  true  friends,  spurred  him  forward  as  it  were 
in  his  weakness,  and  made  their  fortimes  from  his 
faults.     It  was  these  who,  by  commending  the  beauty, 


250  HISTORIC    COURT   IVIEMOIRS. 

the  engaging  ways,  the  wit,  and  the  diverting  and 
pleasant  discourse  of  Mademoiselle  d'Entragues,  made 
him  first  have  a  desire  to  see  and  to  love  her.  They 
could  not  have  done  a  worse  service  to  their  master 
than  this.  She  had  certainly  many  charms,  but  she 
was  no  less  clever  and  cunning.  Her  refusals  and 
modesty  did  more  and  more  provoke  the  King's 
passion.  Though  he  was  not  prodigal,  he  caused  a 
hundred  thousand  crowns  to  be  taken  to  her  at  once. 
She  refused  them  not,  and  reciprocally  testified  much 
love  and  impatience  for  so  great  a  king;  but  she 
cunningly  caused  her  father  and  mother  to  get  in  the 
way,  and  observe  her  so  closely  that  she  could  not 
give  him  a  good  opportunity  to  speak  to  her. 

She  let  him  understand  that  she  was  grieved  that 
she  could  not  keep  her  word  with  him;  that  it  was 
necessary  to  have  the  consent  of  her  father  and 
mother,  for  which  on  her  part  she  would  labour. 
Afterwards,  after  many  delays  and  procrastinations, 
she  told  him  that  they  could  not  be  brought  to  so 
delicate  a  point,  unless,  if  only  to  secure  their  con- 
sciences towards  God  and  their  honour  towards  the 
world,  his  Majesty  would  make  her  a  promise  of  mar- 
riage ;  that  she  had  no  desire  to  use  the  document  to 
his  prejudice,  and  that  if  she  did  so,  she  knew  well 
there  was  no  official  who  durst  challenge  a  man  who 
had  fifty  thousand  men  of  war  at  his  command ;  but 
that  these  good  people  desired  it  should  be  so,  and 


HENRI   IV.  251 

that  he  need  make  no  difficulty  to  please  their  fancy, 
since  he  would  be  giving  her  but  a  little  bit  of  paper 
in  exchange  for  the  most  precious  thing  she  had  in 
the  world.  At  last  she  managed  to  work  upon  his 
mind  so  cleverly  that  he  gave  her  a  promise  under  his 
hand  by  which  he  agreed  to  espouse  her  in  a  year, 
provided  that  during  that  time  she  brought  forth  a 
male  child. 

All  this  intrigue  may  be  seen  in  the  memoirs  of 
Sully,  where  he  says  that  the  King,  having  led  him 
alone  into  the  first  gallery  of  Fontainebleau,  showed 
him  this  promise  written  under  his  hand,  and  de- 
manded his  advice.  Instead  of  formally  answering 
him  concerning  it,  he  tore  it  in  two  pieces.  The 
King  w:as  quite  astonished,  and  said,  angrily,  "  How ! 
now  I  believe  that  you  are  a  fool;"  to  which  the 
other  answered,  "  It  is  true.  Sire,  that  I  am  a  fool, 
and  could  wish  I  were  more  so,  so  that  I  alone  in 
France  were  one."  He  also  says  that  on  his  depar- 
ture from  the  gallery,  the  King  entered  his  closet  and 
called  for  a  pen  and  ink,  and  that  he  believed  it  was 
to  write  another.  However  this  be,  this  promise 
caused  much  trouble  afterwards,  for  the  lady  wished 
it  to  be  made  valid,  as  we  shall  relate. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  King  was  endeavouring 
to  obtain  the  dissolution  of  his  first  marriage  at  Rome, 
he  also  requested  the  Holy  Father  to  decide  the  differ- 
ence concerning  the  restitution  of  the  marquisate  of 


252  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Saluces,  the  decision  of  which  had  been  referred  to 
him  by  the  Treaty  of  Yervins. 

To  understand  this  well,  it  must  be  known  that 
this  marquisate  was  a  fief  dependent  upon  the  Dau- 
phinate,  which  King  FranQois  I.  had  seized  by  right  of 
reversion,  in  default  of  heirs  male  in  the  succession  of 
the  lords  that  held  it.  Now,  in  1588,  during  the  as- 
size of  the  estates  of  Blois,  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  under- 
standing that  the  League  was  becoming  very  strong 
in  France,  and  that  apparently  that  monarchy  would 
be  dismembered,  snatched  this  marquisate  without 
having  any  subject  of  quarrel ;  he  only  pretended  to 
justify  this  unjust  usurpation  with  the  pretext  that  he 
seized  it  from  fear  lest  Lesdiguieres  should  possess 
himself  of  it,  and  by  this  means  establish  the  Hugue- 
not religion  in  the  midst  of  his  territories. 

Seven  years  after,  to  wit,  in  the  year  1595,  when 
the  King  had  gone  to  Lyons,  after  the  battle  of  Fon- 
taine-Fran9aise,  the  Duke,  who  foresaw  that  the  King 
would  again  take  possession  of  this  marquisate,  pro- 
posed to  him  some  arrangement  concerning  it.  The 
King  offered  to  give  it  to  one  of  his  sons,  to  hold  it 
in  faith  and  homage,  with  some  other  conditions,  but 
the  Duke  demanded  it  without  any  dependence,  and 
so  this  negotiation  was  broken  off. 

The  King's  ambassadors  treating  on  the  general 
peace  at  Vervins  urgently  demanded  the  restitution  of 
that  fief.     Those  of   the   Duke,   who   were    present, 


HENRI   IV.  253 

alleged  in  favour  of  their  master  that  the  marquisate 
appertained  to  him  as  being  a  fief  of  Savoy,  and  that 
he  had  several  essential  titles  to  prove  its  dependency, 
which  it  was  necessary  to  see  in  order  to  decide  the 
difference  with  knowledge  of  the  facts.  Now  it  would 
have  taken  up  too  much  time  to  have  them  sent  from 
Savoy,  and  the  Pope's  nuncio  hurried  on  the  peace, 
for  fear  lest  during  these  delays  some  accident  might 
happen  to  break  it ;  so  that,  in  order  not  to  retard  it, 
it  was  judged  convenient  to  refer  to  the  Pope  the  de- 
cision of  this  affair,  on  condition  that  he  should  ter- 
minate it  in  a  year. 

The  French  during  that  time  earnestly  solicited  at 
Rome  to  have  it  decided.  The  Savoyards  objected 
only  through  fear  of  losing  their  cause  by  default. 
Both  sides  produced  their  titles.  Those  of  the  French 
were  the  best,  and,  moreover,  they  had  had  peaceable 
possession  for  more  than  sixty  years,  which  was  more 
than  sufficient  to  gain  prescription.  The  year  being 
expired,  the  Pope  demanded  of  the  King  a  further 
prolongation  of  two  months  to  give  in  his  sentence  of 
arbitration,  and  that  in  the  meantime  the  marquisate 
should  be  sequestrated  in  his  hands.  The  King  will- 
ingly consented,  but  the  Duke  mistrusted  that  the 
Pope  wanted  to  keep  it  for  one  of  his  nephews ;  and 
his  ambassador  having  testified  this  mistrust,  the  Pope 
refused  to  meddle  any  further  either  with  the  gage  or 
with  the  arbitration. 


254  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  Duke  imagined  that  his  best  way  was  to  use 
delay,  since  it  might  happen  that  either  the  French 
King  would  grow  weary  of  pursuing  this  business,  or 
that  some  more  important  affair  might  divert  his 
thoughts  into  another  channel.  Moreover,  knowing 
that  there  were  many  disaffected  persons  who  could 
not  be  cured  of  the  opinion  that  the  King  was  still  in 
his  heart  a  Huguenot,  and  among  them  many  secret 
and  dangerous  enemies,  so  that  no  year  passed  without 
many  conspiracies  against  his  person,  it  was  possible 
that  in  the  end  some  of  them  might  succeed.  In  fact, 
during  that  year  there  had  been  three  discovered,  of 
which  the  one  that  made  most  noise  was  that  of  a 
woman,  who  volunteered  to  the  Comte  de  Soissons  to 
poison  the  King ;  but  the  Count  brought  her  to  jus- 
tice, and  she  was  burned  alive  in  the  Greve. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  gain  time,  he  desired  to  come 
to  France  himself,  having  so  good  an  opinion  of  his 
own  cunning  that  he  felt  assured  that  he  would  obtain 
from  the  King  the  gift  of  this  marquisate ;  or  at  least 
he  intended  to  make  such  proposals,  and  to  employ  so 
many  artifices  that  it  would  take  more  than  a  year  to 
put  them  straight.  He  said  that  his  ambassador  had 
sent  him  word  that  he  had  heard  the  King  say  that  if 
they  were  together  they  would  soon  decide  this  differ- 
ence like  friends,  and  it  was  this  good  word  which 
had  caused  him  to  make  this  voyage.  But  many  sus- 
pected, and  with  apparent  reason,  that  he  had  a  de- 


HENRI  IV.  255 

sign  to  win  over  some  of  the  King's  Council,  to  sound 
the  disaffected  and  observe  and  awake  discontent,  to 
cast  abroad  seeds  of  corruption  and  division,  and  to 
renew  such  intrigues  as  he  might  have  at  Court. 
Others  imagined  that  he  was  discontented  with  Spain, 
because  Philip  II.,  having  given  the  Low  Countries  as 
a  dowry  to  his  youngest  daughter,  had  left  to  the 
eldest,  wife  of  this  Duke,  only  a  crucifix  and  an  image 
of  Our  Lady.  Moreover,  he  had  indeed  received  some 
causes  for  displeasure  at  the  hands  of  the  ministers  of 
Spain ;  and  he  spread  abroad  a  report,  whether  it  were 
true  or  false,  that  he  had  undertaken  this  voyage  with- 
out communicating  with  Philip  III.,  his  brother-in- 
law.  In  fact,  every  one  judged  according  to  his 
fancy ;  and  possibly  none  divined  his  secret  thoughts, 
there  never  having  been  a  prince  more  close  or  less 
penetrable  than  he.  And  some  said  his  heart  was 
covered  with  mountains  as  well  as  his  country ;  for 
he  was  hunchbacked  and  Savoy  was  mountainous. 

He  brought  with  him  a  train  which  well  set  forth 
his  degree,  for  he  had  with  him  twelve  hundred  horse ; 
but  all  his  officers  were  clad  in  mourning,  on  account 
of  the  death  of  his  wife,  which  many  took  as  a  bad 
omen.  The  King,  desiring  to  receive  him  according 
to  his  dignity,  commanded  all  the  cities  to  render  him 
the  same  honour  as  if  he  were  there  in  person. 

He  came  to  Lyons  by  the  river  Rhone,  and  was 
received  by  La  Guiche,  governor  of  that  city.     But 


256  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  chapter  of  St.  John  would  not  give  him  the  place 
of  canon  and  count  of  that  church,  because  he  no 
longer  possessed  the  county  of  Villars,  by  virtue  of 
which  the  Counts  of  Savoy  had  been  at  other  times 
received.  Added  to  this,  he  had  not  his  titles,  nor 
would  he  give  time  to  prove  his  nobility,  with  which 
the  chapter  will  not  dispense  in  the  case  of  any  one 
except  the  King. 

From  Lyons  he  came  to  Roanne,  and  descended  by 
water  to  Orleans,  afterwards  coming  post  to  Fontaine- 
bleau,  where  the  King  was.  He  arrived  on  the  20  th 
of  December,  accompanied  by  seventy  horse.  To  ac- 
quire confidence  with  the  King,  he  complained  loudly 
against  the  Spaniards,  and  disclosed,  or  feigned  to 
disclose  to  him,  his  most  secret  thoughts,  and  a 
design  he  had  to  drive  them  out  of  Italy.  He  told 
him  his  friends,  his  means,  and  his  information  with 
regard  to  it,  and  he  tried  to  make  him  believe  that 
he  was  opening  his  heart  to  him ;  that  he  was  an 
earnest  Frenchman,  and  desired  to  consult  the  inter- 
ests of  France  without  reserve.  The  King  listened 
to  him  with  attention,  and  thanked  him  for  his  good 
intentions  ;  but  after  saying  that,  he  finished  thus : 
"  I  am  of  opinion  that  we  should  decide  first  those 
affairs  between  us,  and  then  talk  of  others."  Three 
days  after,  the  King  went  to  Paris,  where  they  were 
to  discuss  more  fully  the  subject  which  had  brought 
the  Duke  to  France. 


HENRI  IT.  257 

The  beginning  of  the  last  year  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  that  is,  the  year  1600,  was  celebrated  for 
the  centenary  jubilee,  which  was  opened  at  Rome. 
There  were  twenty-four  thousand  French  at  Rome, 
some  moved  by  devotion,  others  by  curiosity,  among 
whom  were  a  large  number  of  Huguenots,  who  went 
to  sec  the  gi^eat  ceremony.  They  were  able  to  do 
it  with  all  security,  for  during  the  great  jubilee  the 
Inquisition  ceased  at  Rome,  where  at  any  time  it  was 
much  less  rigorous  than  in  Spain.  The  Due  de  Bar 
was  in  disguise  at  this  jubilee.  ,  He  went  to  demand 
license  for  his  marriage,  and  absolution  of  the  Holy 
Father.  He  obtained  absolution  in  the  manner  re- 
lated by  Cardinal  d'Ossat  in  his  letters ;  but  in  spite 
of  his  submission  he  could  not  obtain  the  license,  nor 
did  he  procure  it  till  the  death  of  Madame  Catherine, 
his  wife,  three  years  later. 

The  beginning  of  this  year  saw  the  King  and  the 
Duke  of  Savoy  live  with  so  much  familiarity,  and  so 
many  proofs  of  friendship,  that  it  might  have  been 
believed  they  had  but  one  heart.  The  French  cour- 
tesy and  civility  obliged  the  King  to  treat  the  Duke 
with  great  honour,  and  the  desire  which  the  Duke 
had  of  obtaining  from  him  the  marquisate  moved 
him  to  a  great  complacency,  and  to  seek  all  means 
to  render  himself  agreeable  to  so  great  a  king.  The 
Court  of  France  declared  that  it  had  never  seen  a 
more    perfect   courtier,  the    ladies   a  more    pleasing 


258  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

gallant,  and  the  officers  of  the  King  and  the  great 
ones  a  prmce  more  liberal.  He  knew  how  to  behave 
himself  with  the  King  so  as  to  act  neither  as  his 
companion  nor  as  his  servant;  and  if  he  wished  to 
appear  inferior  to  him  in  grandeur,  he  endeavoured 
to  be  superior  to  him  in  generosity  and  liberality. 
He  gave  with  open  hand,  even  to  the  principal  men 
of  the  Court.  The  King  permitted  them  to  accept 
his  presents,  and  on  his  side  gave  very  large  ones  to 
the  Duke.  He  treated  him  well,  and  made  the  chiefs 
of  the  Court  treat  him  well  also,  every  day  providing 
him  with  some  new  object  of  pleasure.  Among  other 
things,  he  desired  that  he  should  see  his  Parliament, 
which  our  kings  have  usually  shown  to  sti^ange 
princes  as  a  compendium  of  their  greatness  and 
the  place  where  their  Majesty  sits  with  the  greatest 
splendour.  They  went  together  into  the  lantern  ^ 
of  the  great  chamber,  where  they  with  great  delight 
heard  a  very  singular  cause  pleaded,  specially  chosen, 
and  the  sentence  or  agreement  j^ronounced  by  Harlay, 
First  President,  a  person  so  grave  and  so  eloquent 
that  all  which  came  from  his  mouth  seemed  to  come 
from  that  of  Justice  herself. 

There  was  no  civility  nor  courtesy  which  the  King 
failed  to  show  to  the  Duke ;  but  after  all  he  would 
not  give  way  in  regard  to  the  marquisate.     The  Duke 

1  A  place  -which  looked  into  the  Parliament  House,  and  I  suppose  so 
called  because  they  might  see  and  not  be  seen.  —  Tb. 


HENRI   IV.  259 

tried  to  gain  his  end  hj  all  means  in  his  power ; 
sometimes  he  offered  to  hold  it  in  homage  from  the 
Crown ;  sometimes  he  proposed  that  the  King  should 
share  his  great  designs  on  the  Milanese  and  on  the 
Empire  ;  sometimes  he  set  before  him  the  programme 
of  a  powerful  league  to  destroy  the  Spaniards  in 
Italy.  But  the  King  was  too  wise  to  be  gulled  by 
gilded  shadows ;  ^  he  answered  that  he  had  no  am- 
bition to  conquer  the  possessions  of  another,  but  only 
to  recover  his  own ;  that  he  would  speak  no  further 
of  this  affair  to  the  Duke,  as  he  considered  they 
should  refer  it  to  their  Council.  Therefore  they 
named  some  representatives,  who  conferred  together; 
but  as  those  of  the  King  insisted  on  the  restitution 
of  the  marquisate,  while  those  of  the  Duke  endeav- 
oured to  keep  it  for  him,  nothing  was  concluded. 

Yet  though  all  the  Duke's  hopes  of  obtaining  any- 
thing had  vanished,  he  did  not  lose  courage,  but 
trusted  to  the  intrigues  he  had  renewed  with  some  of 
the  great  ones  of  the  Court,  and  particularly  with  the 
Due  de  Biron.  Many  believe  that  he  began  now  to 
corrupt  him,  and  that  he  entrusted  this  business  to  a 
gentleman  of  Burgundy,  named  Laffin,  of  the  House  of 
Beauvais  la  Node,  the  most  pernicious  and  traitorous 
fellow  that  could  be  found  in  France,  for  he  made  a 
trade  of  carrying  tales  from  one   to  another.     The 

1  The  French  is,  *^ prendre  le  change,"  w?iich  is  taken  for  flying  out  at 
a  wrong  deer  like  hounds  of  riot.  —  Tr. 


260  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

King  knew  him  well,  and  seeing  him  very  familiar 
with  Biron,  he  had  the  goodness  to  tell  the  Marshal 
more  than  once,  "  Let  not  that  man  approach  you ; 
he  is  a  plague,  and  he  will  ruin  you." 

The  Duke  knew  that  Biron  loved  the  King,  because 
he  had  raised  him  to  the  greatest  dignities  of  his 
realm,  and  that  the  Prince  likewise  honoured  him 
with  his  good-will.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to 
cause  him  to  lose  this  affection  before  he  would  be 
able  to  render  him  capable  of  any  evil  design. 

Biron  was  without  doubt  brave  and  valiant  to  the 
utmost,  but  so  puffed  up  with  his  gallantry  that  he 
could  not  suffer  anybody  to  equal  him.  After  the 
Peace  of  Yervins,  not  having  anything  more  to  do,  he 
continually  boasted  of  his  great  deeds.  According  to 
his  own  words  he  had  done  everything,  and  he  intoxi- 
cated himself  so  much  with  his  own  praise  that  he 
raised  his  own  valour  above  the  King's.  He  believed 
that  Henri  owed  his  crown  to  him,  and  so  could 
refuse  him  nothing,  and  should  be  governed  by  him 
absolutely.  These  bravadoes  displeased  the  King. 
He  was  annoyed  that  his  subject  should  think  that 
he  equalled  him  in  valour,  but  much  more  that  he 
should  have  the  presumption  to  hope  to  govern  him, 
who  had  ten  times  more  brains  and  good  judgment 
than  the  Marshal. 

It  is  certainly  a  noble  ambition,  and  not  only  well 
placed,  but    absolutely  necessary  for   a    king,  to  be- 


HENRI  IV.  261 

lieve  none  of  his  subjects  more  worthy  than  himself. 
When  he  has  not  this  good  opinion  of  himself,  he  lets 
himself  be  governed  by  those  whom  he  believes  more 
able  than  himself,  and  by  this  means  soon  falls  into 
captivity ;  therefore,  though  he  may  be  deceived,  he 
ought  still  to  esteem  himself  the  most  capable  person 
to  govern  in  his  whole  realm.  I  may  say  rather  that 
he  cannot  deceive  himself  in  this,  because  there  is  no 
person  more  proper  than  himself,  however  ignorant 
he  be,  to  rule  his  kingdom,  God  having  destined  this 
function  to  him,  and  not  to  others,  and  the  people 
being  always  disposed  to  receive  commands  when 
they  come  out  of  his  sacred  mouth. 

Henri  the  Great  had  therefore  become  gi'eatly  an- 
noyed with  the  Mar^chal  de  Biron  because  of  his 
vanity.  The  Duke  of  Savoy,  praising  one  day  the 
noble  actions  and  great  services  of  the  Mar^chaux  de 
Biron,  both  father  and  son,  the  King  answered  that 
it  was  true  they  had  served  him  well,  but  that  he  had 
had  great  difficulty  to  moderate  the  drunkenness  of 
the  father  and  the  extraordinary  whims  of  the  son. 
The  Duke  remembered  his  words,  and  caused  them  to 
be  carried  by  Laffin  to  Biron,  who,  touched  in  his 
most  sensitive  part,  was  transported  to  a  thousand 
extravagances  ;  and,  having  lost  all  respect,  lost  like- 
wise his  affection  for  the  King.  It  has  been  sus- 
pected that  he  at  once  abandoned  himself  to  all 
manner  of  wicked  designs,  and  that  he  promised  to 


262  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

enter  into  a  league  which  the  Duke  of  Savoy  was 
about  to  make  with  the  King  of  Spain,  on  condition 
that  he  gave  him  his  daughter  in  marriage,  and 
assisted  him  to  make  himself  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

After  the  Duke  of  Savoy  had  remained  more  than 
two  months  at  the  Court  of  France,  showing,  as  the 
proverb  says,  "  A  merry  countenance  at  an  ill  game,"  ^ 
and  hiding  his  annoyance  under  an  apparent  joy,  but 
not  knowing  how  to  return  without  shame  nor  to  stay 
longer  with  advantage,  the  Bang,  who  did  not  wish 
to  give  him  cause  to  say  that  he  had  treated  him 
harshly,  gave  him  to  understand  that  if  the  marquis- 
ate  was  so  necessary  to  him,  since  he  could  not  re- 
store it  without  great  inconvenience,  he  would  be 
content  to  take  La  Bresse  in  exchange.  This  condi- 
tion seemed  no  less  hard  to  the  Duke  than  that  of 
the  restitution  of  the  marquisate.  However,  in  order 
that  he  might  have  some  pretext  to  retire  with  hon- 
our, he  seemed  not  averse  to  it,  and  there  were  some 
articles  drawn  up  which  he  professed  were  not  dis- 
agreeable to  him ;  but  he  demanded  time  to  consider 
the  alternative  of  the  restitution  or  exchange,  and  to 
take  the  advice  of  the  grandees  of  his  duchy  on  so 
important  a  subject.  The  King,  therefore,  granted 
him  for   this  purpose  three  clear  months. 

Shortly  afterwards  he  took  leave  of  the  King,  who 
conducted  him  to  Pont  Charenton,  and  instructed  the 

1  That  is,  concealing  his  dissatisfaction. 


HENRI   IV.  263 

Baron  de  Lux  and  Praslin  to  accompany  him  to  the 
frontier.  He  returned  by  Champagne  and  Burgimdy, 
whence  he  entered  La  Bresse,  and  went  to  Bourg. 
They  were  very  pleased  to  see  him  return  safely, 
because  they  feared  that  he  might  be  detained  in 
France.  Indeed  there  were  some  who  counselled 
the  King  to  keep  him  till  such  time  as  he  should 
restore  the  marquisate ;  but  the  King,  much  offended 
at  this  proposition,  answered  angrily  that  they  studied 
to  dishonour  him,  but  that  he  would  rather  lose  his 
crown  than  incur  the  least  suspicion  of  having  broken 
his  faith,  even  to  the  greatest  of  his  enemies. 

The  three  months  being  expired,  and  the  Duke  not 
having  fulfilled  his  promise,  the  King  was  annoyed, 
and  pressed  him  to  decide  at  once  which  course  he 
would  pursue.  The  Duke  found  new  delays,  but  prom- 
ised daily  to  satisfy  the  King.  In  the  meantime  he 
communicated  to  the  Council  of  Spain  the  danger  in 
which  he  was,  pointing  out  that  the  loss  of  the  mar- 
quisate would  put  him  in  such  a  position  that  he 
would  not  have  the  power  to  serve  the  Spaniards; 
that  it  would  open  the  door  to  the  French  to  trouble 
Italy ;  and  that  this  tempest,  after  having  laid  waste 
his  country,  would  fall  upon  Milan.  The  Council  of 
Spain  apprehended  well  the  urgency  of  the  question, 
but,  proceeding  very  slowly,  were  a  long  time  before 
they  decided  to  take  action.  At  last  the  Count  of 
Fuentes,  Governor  of  Milan,  received  instructions,  two 


264  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

months  later  than  he  ought  to  have,  to  vigorously 
assist  this  Prince.  He  therefore  came  to  Milan, 
where,  with  two  millions  of  gold  which  were  ready, 
he  began  to  make  great  preparations. 

After  the  Duke  had  in  various  ways  protracted  the 
negotiations  for  almost  two  months  longer,  the  King, 
wearied  with  these  delays,  made  preparations  to  bind 
this  Proteus,  who  changed  himself  into  all  sorts  of 
forms,  and  to  force  him  to  give  a  decided  answer. 
He  advanced  to  Lyons,  whither  he  had  sent  his  Coun- 
cil beforehand.  The  Duke,  learning  of  his  approach, 
had  recourse  to  fresh  stratagems.  He  sent  to  him 
three  ambassadors,  who  conjointly  proposed  an  ar- 
rangement, by  which  they  declared  that  their  master 
was  ready  to  fulfil  the  treaty  made  at  Paris,  and  that 
he  promised  to  restore  the  marquisate ;  but  the  one 
who  held  the  secret  refused  to  sign  the  articles  till 
the  Duke  had  first  shown  them  to  his  Council  and 
signed  them.  By  this  trick  the  Duke  gained  seven  or 
eight  days  more  ;  but  the  King,  resolved  to  press  him 
to  a  conclusion,  still  pursued  him,  discovered  his 
subterfuge,  and  left  him  no  further  opportunity  for 
delay.  He  was  forced  therefore  to  answer  positively, 
and  he  promised  to  surrender  the  marquisate  by  the 
16  th  of  August. 

Upon  this  assurance,  the  King  caused  Le  Bourg- 
I'Espinasse,  an  old  colonel  of  infantry,  with  the  Swiss 
troops,  to  advance  and  take  possession  of  the  mar- 


HENRI   IV.  265 

quisate.  As  he  approached,  the  Duke  threw  off  his 
mask,  and  answered  clearly  that,  according  to  the 
conditions  proposed,  war  was  not  so  hard  to  him  as 
peace.  Thereupon  the  King  was  obliged  to  come  to 
what  he  had  long  foreseen,  an  open  war.  He  declared 
war,  therefore,  on  the  11th  of  August,  but  with  these 
express  terms,  that  he  did  it  only  to  recover  the 
marquisate,  and  without  prejudice  to  the  Treaty  of 
Vervins,  which  he  desired  to  observe  inviolably. 

At  the  same  time  he  gave  information  of  this  rup- 
ture to  all  the  neighbouring  princes,  and  made  them 
understand  the  just  reasons  he  had.  This  great 
King  knew  well  that  among  Christians  the  breach  of 
peace  is  extremely  odious,  and  that,  without  reasons 
which  thoroughly  convince  our  spirits,  we  ought 
never  to  trouble  the  public  tranquillity. 

The  King  at  that  time  was  at  Grenoble,  where  he 
had,  to  begin  this  war,  only  three  or  four  companies 
of  ordnance.!  Some  proposed  that  he  should  order 
his  regiment  of  guards  to  advance.  He  answered  that 
he  would  not  send  them  from  him ;  that  they  were  the 
Tenth  Legion,  which  never  fought  without  Csesar.^ 
But  in  a  short  time  the  French  nobility  and  adven- 
turers flocked  to  him  on  all  sides,  as  if  to  a  marriage 
or  a  ball. 

*  Compagnies  d'ordonnance :  certain  privileged  companies,  quite  in- 
dependent of  any  regiment. 

*  Julius  Caesar  would  never  let  the  Tenth  Legion  fight  except  with 
him. 


266  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

The  Mar^chal  de  Biron,  though  still  disaffected, 
having  gathered  some  troops,  laid  waste  the  coun- 
try of  Bresse  in  many  places.  With  his  cannon  he 
forced  the  city  of  Bourg ;  but  the  citadel  defended 
itself  better,  and  proved  indeed  the  only  difficulty  in 
this  war.  Crequy,  entering  into  Savoy,  gained  the  city 
of  Montm^lian,  about  midnight,  but  not  the  castle. 

The  Pope,  alarmed  by  the  first  sparks  of  this  fire, 
and  fearing  lest  it  should  set  all  Italy  alight,  set  him- 
self immediately  to  extinguish  it.  He  despatched  a 
prelate,  who  bore  the  title  of  Patriarch  of  Constan- 
tinople, to  point  out  to  Henri  the  evil  consequences 
of  this  rupture,  and  to  conjure  him  in  the  name  of 
God  not  to  carry  it  any  farther.  The  King  assured 
him  that  he  had  no  design  to  trouble  the  peace  of 
Italy ;  that  he  was  a  Christian  and  a  just  prince ; 
that  God  had  given  him  a  kingdom  sufficient  to 
content  him,  but  that  he  desired  to  regain  what 
belonged  to  his  Crown ;  and  that  if  he  had  had 
other  and  greater  designs,  he  would  have  made 
greater  preparations. 

In  a  few  days  he  departed  and  entered  into  Savoy. 
His  presence  so  much  astonished  the  city  of  Cham- 
bery  that  he  made  the  garrison  depart  by  a  quick 
capitulation.  He  then  made  himself  master  of  Ta- 
rentaise  and  La  Morienne,  by  taking  in  two  or  three 
days  the  city  of  Conflans,  and  that  of  La  Charbon- 
niere,  which  until  then  were  thought  to  be  impregnable. 


HENRI   IV.  267 

Still  the  Duke  of  Savoy  did  not  stir.  He  was  so 
little  concerned  that  he  hunted  and  danced  whilst  his 
provinces  were  being  despoiled,  and  he  seemed  rather 
to  be  a  spectator  than  an  adversary.  His  subjects 
likewise  did  not  seem  much  astonished  at  the  Kino-'s 
progress ;  they  said  that  if  he  took  any  places  in 
Savoy,  their  Duke  would  take  others  in  France.  It 
could  not  be  divined  whence  this  great  security  pro- 
ceeded. Some  believed  that  the  Duke  assured  himself 
by  I  know  not  what  prognostications  of  astrologers, 
who  had  foretold  that  in  the  month  of  August  there 
should  be  no  king  in  France,  —  which  happened  to  be 
very  true,  for  at  that  time  Henri  was  victorious  in  the 
midst  of  Savoy.  Others  believed  that  the  Duke  yet 
trusted  to  the  understanding  he  had  with  the  Mare- 
chal  de  Biron,  whose  fidelity,  much  shaken  by  his 
artifices  while  he  was  in  France,  was  now  almost 
entirely  alienated  by  the  fresh'  reasons  of  discontent 
the  Marshal  had  suffered  during  this  war.  For  the 
King  showed  that  he  no  longer  had  any  trust  in  him ; 
he  did  not  treat  him  with  such  great  freedom  as  he 
had  done  before ;  and  he  committed  the  principal 
direction  of  this  conquest  to  Lesdiguieres,  who,  indeed, 
was  better  acquainted  with  the  country  and  the  man- 
ner of  making  war  in  those  momitains  than  Biron. 
This  preference  furiously  incensed  so  proud  a  spirit, 
for  he  believed  nothing  could  or  ought  to  be  done 
without  him.      Afterwards  the  refusal  of  the  King 


268  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

to  give  him  the  government  of  the  city  of  Bom'g  put 
him  quite  out  of  his  senses.  From  this  time  he  had 
none  but  extravagant  and  criminal  thoughts,  and 
began,  as  it  was  said,  to  treat  with  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  for  the  purpose  of  kindling  a  new  civil  war 
in  France.  I  cannot  relate  the  particulars  of  this 
design,  because  they  were  never  clearly  known. 

The  Duke  of  Savoy  believed  his  fortresses  of  Mont- 
mdlian  in  Savoy,  and  of  Bourg  in  Bresse,  impregnable, 
and  felt  sure  of  the  safety  of  his  country  in  regard  to 
them.  He  was  much  surprised  to  learn  that  the  Mar- 
quis of  Brandis,  Governor  of  Montmelian,  had  agreed 
to  surrender  it  in  a  certain  time.  Upon  this  news  he 
put  himself  in  the  field,  and  used  all  his  endeavours 
to  get  into  a  position  to  relieve  it.  He  had  recourse 
to  the  assistance  of  the  Spaniards ;  but  the  Count  of 
Fuentes,  who  desired  to  further  complicate  matters, 
refused  his  forces  in  his  need,  and  in  the  meantime, 
the  term  of  the  capitulation  having  expired,  he  lost 
Montmelian,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  his  subjects, 
and  no  less  shame  of  Brandis.  Want  of  victuals  and 
ammunition  caused  him  likewise  in  some  weeks  to 
lose  the  citadel  of  Bourg,  in  which  the  governor 
held  out  to  the  last  extremity. 

The  King,  passing  by  the  side  of  Geneva,  subdued 
the  country  of  Chablais  and  Faussigni.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  Geneva  took  the  fort  of  St.  Catherine,  which 
the  Savoyards  had  built  to  annoy  them,  and  demolished 


HEXRI   IV.  269 

it.     After  this  the  King  desired  to  visit  Geneva,  fa- 
mous as  being  one  of  the  ramparts  of  the  Protestant 
relio-ion.     Theodorus  Beza,  the  chief  in  age  as  well  as 
in  learning  of  all  the  Huguenot  ministers,  spoke  a  few- 
words  to  him.     The  Mardchal  de  Biron,  having  con- 
sidered the  place,  which  the  inhabitants  had  taken 
forty  years  to  fortify  with  much  care  and  expense, 
either  to  cause  himself  to  be  esteemed  a  great  cap- 
tain, or  to  show  the   zeal  he  had  for  the  Cathohc 
relio-ion,  boasted  he  could  take  it   in   twenty  days. 
The  King  was  not  pleased  with  this  speech,  because 
France  had  held   Geneva  under  its  protection  since 
the  reign  of  Frangois  I.,  and  was  obliged  to  defend 
it  against  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  who  claimed  that  that 
seigniory  belonged  to  him. 

In  the  meantime  the  Pope,  desiring  above  all  things 
to  extinguish  the  fire  of  this  war,  had  despatched  to 
the  King  and  the  Duke  his  nephew  the  Cardinal 
Aldobrandini,  who  incessantly  laboured  to  make  peace. 
His  greatest  difficulty  was  to  find  knots  strong  and 
sure  enough  to  hold  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  for  those  of 
his  promises  and  his  faith  were  so  uncertain  and  so 
slippery  that  one  could  not  trust  them. 

At  the  same  time  the  King,  whose  thoughts  upon 
his  marriage  the  war  had  not  interrupted,  embarked 
on  the  RhSne  and  went  down  to  Lyons,  where  the 
Queen,  his  new  spouse,  had  arrived  and  was  expecting 
him. 


270  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

The  legate  would  not  discontinue  his  entreaties  for 
peace.  He  followed  him  to  Lyons  for  this  purpose, 
where  he  made  his  entrance  fifteen  days  after  the 
Queen.  The  ambassadors  of  Savoy  followed  him; 
but  their  power  was  given  in  such  terms  that  the  Duke 
might  find  means  to  disavow  them.  However,  when 
they  saw  the  citadel  of  Bourg  reduced  to  extremity, 
they  urgently  solicited  the  legate  to  renew  the  over- 
tures of  peace.  But  he  would  do  nothing  until  they 
had  told  him  in  writing  that  they  desired  it  for  the 
good  of  their  master's  affairs. 

When  the  articles  were  drawn  up  and  agreed  to, 
they  were  signed  on  the  one  part  and  the  other ;  and 
the  peace  was  published  at  Lyons  on  the  17th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1601,  by  which  the  Duke  yielded  to  the  King, 
and  to  the  Kings  of  France,  his  successors,  the  country 
and  seigniories  of  Bresse,  Bugey,  and  Yalromey,  and 
generally  all  that  appertained  to  him  lying  along  the 
river  Rhone,  from  the  egress  of  Geneva,  and  also  the 
bailiwick  and  barony  of  Gex  ;  this  to  be  in  exchange 
for  the  marquisate  of  Saluces,  which  the  King  abso- 
lutely resigned  to  the  Duke  and  his  heirs.  The  treaty 
agreed  likewise  that  all  the  places  taken  by  the  King 
from  the  Duke  of  Savoy  should  be  restored ;  but  all 
the  King's  pretended  rights  against  the  said  Duke 
should  be  reserved  to  him,  according  to  the  provisions 
of  the  Treaties  of  Cateau-Cambresis  and  of  Yervins. 

By  this    exchange    both  the    one   and  the   other 


HENRI   IV.  271 

equally  gained.  The  King,  for  a  marquisate  of  little 
extent,  distant  from  all  his  territories  and  encompassed 
by  those  of  Savoy,  and  which  he  could  keep  only  by 
great  garrisons  which  would  consume  twice  as  much 
as  the  revenue  it  yielded,  gained  a  country  of  more 
than  twenty-five  leagues  in  extent,  which  bordered 
upon  and  enlarged  his  frontier,  in  which  he  had  eight 
hundred  gentlemen,  and  which  was  very  fertile  and 
abundant,  principally  in  grazing  land.  The  Duke,  in 
appropriating  to  himself  the  marquisate,  took  a 
troublesome  thorn  out  of  his  foot,  or  rather  a  sword 
which  pierced  through  his  body,  and  placed  himself  in 
a  position  of  security  ;  for  while  the  French  held  it  he 
dared  not  go  out  of  Turin,  except  with  three  or  four 
hundred  horse  for  convoy,  and  he  was  forced  to  main- 
tain large  garrisons  in  the  middle  of  his  country. 

The  treaty  being  signed,  the  King  departed  from 
Lyons  by  post,  to  return  to  Paris,  whither  the  Queen 
followed  him  by  easy  stages.  Soon  after  her  arrival, 
he  took  her  to  see  his  buildings  of  St,  Germain-en- 
Laye.  This  was  one  of  his  delights,  and  certainly  a 
very  innocent  one,  and  which  agrees  well  with  a  pow- 
erful prince  after  he  has  paid  his  great  debts  and 
eased  his  people  of  their  heavy  load  of  oppressive  im- 
positions ;  for  by  raising  these  proud  edifices  he  leaves 
the  fair  marks  of  his  greatness  and  riches  to  posterity ; 
he  embellishes  his  kingdom,  attracts  the  admiration 
of  his  people,  makes  strangers  know  that  his  coffers 


272  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

swell  with  treasure,  gives  life  and  bread  to  a  great 
number  of  poor  workmen,  labours  profitably  for  his 
own  convenience  and  for  that  of  his  successors ;  and 
last,  but  not  least,  makes  architecture,  sculpture, 
and  painting  flourish,  which  have  ever  been  highly- 
esteemed  by  all  the  most  polite  nations  of  the  world. 

Our  Henri  took  this  diversion  only  to  recreate  his 
spirit  after  labours,  and  not  to  employ  it.  For  he  had 
a  soul  too  great  and  a  genius  too  elevated  to  dedicate 
itself  wholly  to  such  mean  things,  much  less  to  fix  it 
on  vain  amusements.  It  is  true  that  he  built,  that  he 
hunted,  that  he  was  merry  ;  but  this  was  without 
diverting  himself  too  much  from  his  affairs,  without 
abandoning  the  helm  of  state,  which  he  held  as 
firmly  and  diligently  during  the  calm  as  during  the 
tempest. 

Moreover,  he  took  care  not  to  grow  sleepy  whilst  it 
was  fair  weather,  which  is  often  deceitful ;  for  besides 
knowing  that  a  good  king  ought  to  labour  for  his 
country  during  peace  as  well  as  during  war,  he  knew 
that  the  Spaniard  and  Savoyard  still  grumbled  and 
secretly  plotted  against  liim.  The  Count  of  Fuentes, 
having  raised  a  great  army  to  assist  the  Savoyards, 
was  annoyed  because  the  peace  had  deprived  him  of 
the  occasion  to  employ  it.  Some  places  he  had  taken 
in  Picardy  during  the  war  between  the  two  Crowns 
had  made  him  vain,  and  caused  him  to  believe  that  he 
should  always  gain  the  advantage  over  the  French. 


HENRI  rV.  273 

At  the  same  time  the  King  of  Spain  had  put  to  sea  a 
fleet,  commanded  by  one  Doria,  which  would  doubtless 
have  made  a  descent  upon  Provence  if  the  peace  had 
not  been  made.  And  although  it  was  concluded,  this 
did  not  prevent  Fuentes  from  making  an  attempt  upon 
Marseilles,  with  the  object  of  again  causing  a  rupture. 
Those  whom  he  informed  of  his  plans  offered  the 
King  to  draw  six  or  seven  hundred  men  into  a 
snare,  and  keep  them  prisoners  or  cut  them  to  pieces. 

But  the  King  did  not  deem  it  worth  while  to  give 
an  opportunity  to  his  enemies  to  break  the  peace,  and 
to  reenter  upon  a  war  which  might  have  proved  very 
dangerous,  they  being  so  powerfully  armed.  More- 
over, he  feared  lest  there  was  still  in  France  some  fire 
concealed  under  the  embers  which,  in  the  confusion 
of  war,  might  more  easily  show  itself  in  attempts 
upon  his  person,  for,  to  tell  the  truth,  he  had  more 
reason  to  fear  their  knives  and  daggers  than  their 
swords.  He  therefore  wisely  discountenanced  this 
enterprise,  and  answered  the  Marseillais  that  he  knew 
not  how  to  steal  a  victory  ;  that  ambuscades  were  not 
honest  except  in  war  ;  and  that  it  was  necessary  for 
his  honour  to  take  heed  that  he  did  not  in  any  man- 
ner contribute  to  that  rupture  his  enemies  had  a  de- 
sign to  make. 

After  this  the  Spaniards,  finding  that  this  wise 
Argus  had  too  many  eyes  and  too  much  vigilance  to 
be  surprised   on  any  side,  resolved  to  employ  their 


274  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

arms  in  pious  and  honourable  enterprises.  A  part  of 
their  army  was  sent  to  Hungary,  which  was  then 
being  attacked  by  the  Turks.  The  Due  de  Mercoeur, 
having  gone  to  seek  in  that  country  a  juster  glory  than 
in  the  civil  wars  of  France,  commanded  the  Em- 
peror's forces.  He  made  known  to  the  infidels,  by 
many  gallant  exploits,  and  more  particularly  by  the 
memorable  retreat  of  Canise,  that  French  valour  was 
chosen  by  God  to  sustain  the  Christian  religion.  Nor 
was  there  any  doubt  but  that  he  would  have  quite 
chased  them  out  of  the  kingdom,  of  which  they  had 
invaded  more  than  one  half,  if  he  had  not  died  the 
following  year  of  a  fever,  which  seized  him  at  Xurem- 
burg  as  he  was  about  to  pay  his  devotions  at  the 
shrine  of  the  Lady  of  Loretto. 

Sometime  after  this,  an  accident  happened  by  which 
the  King  took  occasion  to  let  the  Spaniards  know 
that  he  would  not  suffer  anything  against  his  honour 
nor  against  the  dignity  of  his  estate.  Rochepot  was 
his  ambassador  in  Spain.  Some  gentlemen  of  his 
train,  of  whom  one  was  his  nephew,  while  bathing  in 
the  river,  chanced  to  have  a  quarrel  with  some  Span- 
iards, and  killing  two,  took  refuge  in  the  ambassador's 
house.  The  friends  of  the  Spaniards  so  much  excited 
the  people  that  they  besieged  the  house,  and  were 
ready  to  set  it  on  fire.  The  magistrate,  to  prevent 
the  tragic  effects  of  this  fury,  was  constrained  to  do 
an  injustice,  and  to  violate  the  freedom  of  the  am- 


HENRI   IV.  275 

bassador's  house ;  so  he  repaired  thither  with  assist- 
ance, and  led  them  to  prison.  The  King  of  Spain, 
being  troubled  at  having  violated  the  right  of  nations, 
sent  to  demand  pardon  of  the  ambassador;  yet  the 
Frenchmen  still  remained  prisoners. 

There  were  many  things  said  and  written  concern- 
ing the  rights  and  privileges  of  ambassadors.  It  is 
true,  said  some,  that  an  ambassador  alone  has  right 
of  sovereign  justice  in  his  palace;  but  the  people  of 
his  train  are  subject  to  the  justice  of  the  nation  in 
which  they  are,  for  those  faults  they  commit  outside 
his  palace,  and  so  if  they  be  taken  outside  of  it  they 
may  be  proceeded  against ;  and  though  this  rigour  is 
not  generally  observed,  and  the  respect  shown  to  the 
ambassador's  person  is  usually  extended  to  all  those 
that  follow  him,  yet,  however,  this  is  a  courtesy,  and 
not  a  right.  But  it  is  not  permissible  to  search  for 
the  criminal  in  the  palace  of  the  ambassador,  which 
is  a  sacred  place,  and  a  sanctuary  for  his  people.  It 
should  not,  however,  be  abused,  or  used  as  a  retreat 
for  wicked  persons,  nor  give  sanctuary  to  the  subjects 
of  a  prince  against  the  laws  of  his  realm ;  for  in  such 
cases,  on  complaint  to  his  master,  he  is  bound  to  do 
justice. 

Now  the  King,  being  justly  offended  at  the  injury 
done  to  France  in  the  person  of  his  ambassador,  and 
not  judging  the  satisfaction  the  magistrate  had  given 
him  sufficient,  commanded  the  ambassador  to  return 


276  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

immediately ;  which  he  did,  without  taking  leave  of 
the  King  of  Spain,  Henri  forbade  at  the  same  time 
all  commerce  with  Spaniards;  and  foreseeing  that 
in  these  circumstances  they  might  make  an  attack 
on  the  towns  of  Picardy,  he  with  great  diligence 
departed  from  Paris  to  visit  that  frontier,  and  came 
to  Calais. 

The  people,  who  had  begun  to  taste  the  sweetness 
of  repose,  and  to  till  their  lands  vsdth  patience,  trem- 
bled for  fear  lest  a  new  war  should  expose  them  once 
more  to  the  license  of  the  soldiers.  But  God  had 
pity  on  these  poor  people.  The  Pope,  having  under- 
taken to  remedy  those  mischiefs  which  threatened 
Christendom,  happily  settled  the  quarrel  without 
bloodshed.  The  Spaniards  gave  up  the  prisoners, 
whom  his  Holiness  consigned  some  days  after  into 
the  hands  of  the  Comte  de  B^thune,  ambassador  of 
France  at  Rome ;  and  the  King  afterwards  sent  the 
Comte  de  Barraut  as  ambassador  to  Spain. 

Whilst  the  King  was  at  Calais,  whither,  as  we  have 
said,  he  went,  the  Archduke,  who  was  pursuing  before 
Ostend  the  most  famous  siege  ^  since  that  of  Troy, 
feared  with  some  reason  lest  the  King's  approach 
should  retard  the  progress  of  his  enterprise,  in  which 
he  had  already  lost  so  many  men,  and  spent  so  much 
time,  shot,  money,  and  ammunition.     He  sent  there- 

1  This  siege  lasted  three  years,  three  months,  and  three  days,  from 

July,  1601,  to  September,  1604. 


HENRI   IV.  277 

fore  to  compliment  him,  promising  him  on  the  part 
of  Spain  satisfaction  for  the  violence  done  to  the  lodg- 
ings of  his  ambassador,  but  entreating  him  not  to 
permit  the  besieged  to  take  advantage  of  the  state 
of  affairs.  The  King,  who  never  let  himself  be  over- 
come with  coiu-tesy  any  more  than  by  arms,  sent  the 
Due  d'Aiguillon,  eldest  son  of  the  Due  de  Mayenne, 
to  assure  him  that  he  desired  to  maintain  peace,  that 
he  had  advanced  on  the  frontiers  only  to  dissipate 
some  designs  which  were  being  contrived,  and  that 
he  trusted  the  equity  of  the  King  of  Spain,  which  he 
doubted  not,  would  do  him  justice. 

Whilst  he  was  in  Calais  Queen  Elizabeth  sent  Lord 
Edmonds,  her  principal  confidant,  to  visit  him.  In 
answer  to  which  obliging  civility,  he  sent  the  Mar^- 
chal  de  Biron  to  England,  accompanied  by  the  Comte 
d'Auvergne,  and  the  choice  of  the  nobility  of  his 
Court,  to  represent  to  her  the  regret  the  King  felt, 
while  he  was  so  near  to  her,  at  not  being  able  to  enjoy 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  her. 

This  Queen  endeavoured  by  all  means  possible  to 
show  the  French  her  greatness  and  power.  One  day, 
holding  Biron  by  the  hand,  she  showed  him  a  large 
number  of  heads  fixed  on  the  Tower  of  London,  tell- 
ing him  that  thus  they  punished  rebels  in  England, 
and  recounting  to  him  the  reasons  for  which  she  put 
to  death  the  Earl  of  Essex,  whom  she  had  once  so 
tenderly  loved.     Those  who  heard  the  discourse  re- 


278  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

membered  it  afterwards,  when  they  saw  the  Mar^chal 
de  Biron  fall  into  the  same  misfortune,  and  lose  his 
head  after  having  lost  the  favour  of  the  King. 

We  must  not  forget  to  relate  that  before  the  King 
made  his  voyage  to  Calais  he  had  taken  the  Queen 
with  him  to  enjoy  the  jubilee  in  the  city  of  Orleans, 
where  the  Holy  Father  had  ordained  the  stations  for 
France  to  begin.  His  sincere  and  unfeigned  piety  gave 
a  fair  example  to  his  people,  who  saw  him  go  to  pro- 
cessions with  great  devotion,  and  pray  to  God  with  no 
less  attention,  his  heart  agreeing  with  his  lips.  He 
laid  the  foundation-stone  of  a  new  Church  of  the  Holy 
Cross  at  Orleans,  on  the  site  of  that  which  the  Hugue- 
nots had  thrown  down  forty  years  before,  and  gave  a 
considerable  sum  of  money  to  build  it. 

All  France,  during  this  holy  jubilee,  had  earnestly 
prayed  to  Heaven  that  it  would  be  pleased  to  give 
them  a  Dauphin,  to  deliver  them  from  those  misfor- 
tunes in  which  they  would  be  plunged  if  the  King 
should  die  without  male  children.  Their  vows  were 
heard,  and  the  Queen  was  happily  brought  to  bed  of 
a  son  at  Fontainebleau,  on  the  day  of  St.  Cosmo 
(27th  of  September).  They  gave  him  at  his  bap- 
tism the  name  of  Louis,  so  sweet  and  dear  to  France 
for  the  memory  of  the  great  Saint  Louis,  and  of  the 
good  King  Louis  XII.,  father  of  the  people.  He  was 
afterwards  given  the  surname  of  the  Just ;  and  at  the 
present  day  we  consider  it  not  the  least  of  his  titles  to 


HEXRI   IV.  279 

have  been  the  father  of  Louis  the  wise  and  virtuous. 
His  birth  was  preceded  by  a  great  earthquake,  which 
happened  some  days  before.  The  birth  was  very  hard, 
and  the  infant  laboured  until  he  was  all  of  a  purple 
colour,  which  possibly  ruined  the  principal  organs  of 
health  and  good  constitution.  The  King,  invoking 
on  him  the  benediction  of  Heaven,  gave  him  his  bless- 
ing, and  placed  his  sword  in  the  infant's  hand,  praying 
to  God  that  he  would  give  him  the  grace  to  use  it 
only  for  his  glory  and  for  the  defence  of  the  people. 
The  Princes  of  the  blood  which  were  with  him  in  the 
Queen's  chamber  saluted  the  Dauphin  one  after  an- 
other. I  omit  to  tell  at  length  how  express  couriers 
carried  the  news  into  all  the  provinces,  and  of  the 
public  rejoicings  throughout  the  whole  kingdom,  par- 
ticularly in  the  great  city  of  Paris,  where  the  people 
as  much  loved  Henri  the  Great  as  they  had  hated  his 
predecessor,  of  the  compliments  the  King  received 
from  all  the  potentates  of  Europe,  and  of  the  accus- 
tomed present  from  the  Holy  Father  on  all  such  occa- 
sions, namely,  the  blessed  swathing-bands,  which  he 
sent  by  Seigneur  Barbarino,  who  became  cardinal  and 
afterwards  Pope  Urban  VIII. 

Five  days  before,  the  Queen  of  Spain  had  been 
brought  to  bed  of  her  first  child,  a  daughter,  whom 
at  the  font  of  baptism  they  called  Anne.  The  Span- 
iards rejoiced  no  less  than  if  it  had  been  a  son,  for  in 
that  country  females  may  succeed  to  the  crown.    The 


280  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

most  far-seeing  amongst  the  French  Hkewise  took  part 
in  this  joy,  but  for  another  reason,  which  was  that  this 
Princess  being  of  the  same  age  as  the  Dauphin,  it 
seemed  that  Heaven  had  ordained  them  for  one  an- 
other, and  that  she  ought  one  day  to  be  his  spouse ; 
as,  indeed,  Louis  XIII.  had  this  happiness,  and  France 
still  possesses  it,  admiring  on  all  occasions  the  rare 
wisdom,  the  exemplary  piety,  and  heroic  constancy  of 
this  great  Princess.^ 

In  acknowledgment  of  the  grace  which  God  had 
done  to  the  King  in  giving  him  a  Dauphin,  which  was 
the  sum  of  his  wishes,  he  redoubled  his  care  and  dili- 
gence to  acquit  himself  well  of  his  duty  to  his  State, 
to  better,  as  he  said,  the  succession  of  his  son.  We 
will  here  recount  some  establishments  and  orders  he 
made  to  that  purpose. 

Need  of  money  had  obliged  him  during  the  siege  of 
Amiens  to  create  triennial  officers  in  his  revenues. 
The  necessity  having  now  passed  away,  he  knew  that 
there  was  no  need  of  so  many  people  to  rifle  his  purse, 
and  that  it  was  impossible  but  something  should  every 
day  remain  in  the  hands  of  each  one  of  these.  He 
therefore  discharged  these  new  officers,  and  com- 
manded that  the  old  system  should  be  reestablished. 
From  this  suppression  were  excepted  the  treasurers  of 
the  exchequer,  and  those  of  casual  forfeitures  or  fines. 

1  Louis  XIII.  married  Anne  of  Austria,  daughter  of  Philip  III.  ot 
Spain  and  Margaret  of  Austria. 


HENRI   W.  281 

Rosny  had  so  well  bridled  both  the  gatherers  and 
the  farmers  that  they  could  no  longer  rob  the  ex- 
chequer with  impunity.  But  this  was  not  enough ; 
they  had  filled  their  purses  so  well  before  he  was 
superintendent,  that  the  King  with  infinite  justice 
ordained  a  tribunal,  composed  of  a  certain  number  of 
judges  chosen  out  of  the  sovereign  courts,  and  called 
it  the  Chamber  Royal.  This  tribunal  he  instructed 
to  make  an  exact  search  of  the  misdemeanours  of 
those  who  had  managed  the  King's  moneys,  and  it 
made  a  great  many  disgorge.  A  large  number,  how- 
ever, f  oimd  means  to  escape  ;  some  out  of  consideration 
of  their  alliances,  others  by  force  of  money  gaining 
those  who  were  near  the  King,  principally  his  mis- 
tresses, and  even  corrupting  the  judges  themselves. 
So  much  is  it  true  that  gold  pierces  everywhere,  and 
that  nothing  is  proof  against  this  pernicious  metal. 
We  need  not,  then,  wonder  that  those  people  filled 
their  coffers  as  full  as  they  could,  since  the  fuller 
they  heaped  them,  the  easier  was  their  justification. 

I  have  already  said  it,  and  I  say  it  again  (for  it 
cannot  be  too  often  nor  too  much  observed),  that 
there  is  but  one  remedy  for  this  disorder,  which  is 
the  greatest  of  disorders  in  the  State,  and  the  cause 
of  all  others,  and  that  is  the  vigilance  and  exactness 
of  the  King.  He  must  himself  hold  the  strings  of 
his  purse,  keep  his  eye  upon  his  coffers,  know  exactly 
what  is  in  them  and  what  comes  out  of  them.     He 


282  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

must  know  how  his  moneys  accrue,  to  what  uses  they 
are  employed,  and  those  who  manage  them ;  and, 
above  all,  he  must  make  them  give  a  good  account, 
as  our  Henri  did,  so  that  if  they  be  honest  men  they 
cannot  be  corrupted,  and  if  they  are  knaves  they  will 
have  no  opportunity  for  their  knavery. 

He  was  informed  that  there  were  two  other  dis- 
orders in  his  realm,  which  extremely  impoverished 
it,  and  took  from  it  all  the  gold  and  silver.  The  one 
was  the  transportation  of  it  to  strange  countries,  into 
Italy,  Germany,  and  Switzerland,  where  the  smaller 
potentates  melted  it  and  made  money  of  a  baser  alloy. 
The  other  was  the  luxury  which  consumed  likewise  a 
great  quantity  in  embroideries,  silver  and  gold  lace 
on  clothes,  and  no  less  in  the  gilding  of  wainscots 
and  chimney-pieces,  and  various  articles  of  furniture. 

He  made  two  severe  edicts,  which  prohibited  these 
abuses.  For  the  first,  he  renewed  the  ancient  orders 
concerning  the  transport  of  gold  and  silver,  adding 
the  punishment  of  death  to  the  transgressors ;  and 
he  commanded  all  governors  to  take  great  care  that 
these  prohibitions  were  observed,  and  not  to  give  any 
passports  to  the  contrary,  or  else  they  would  be  con- 
sidered as  accessories. 

By  the  second  he  prohibited,  under  penalty  of  great 
fines  for  the  first  time,  and  of  imprisonment  for  the 
second,  the  wearing  of  gold  and  silver  upon  clothes, 
or  employing  it  in   gildings.     This  edict  was  rigor- 


HENRI   IV.  283 

ously  observed,  because  it  excepted  no  person.  The 
King  himself  submitted  to  the  law  he  had  made,  and 
looked  with  disfavour  on  a  Prince  of  the  blood  who 
did  not  obey  this  reformation. 

A  prodigious  amount  of  money  was  likewise  ex- 
pended in  silks,  by  the  buying  of  which  a  large  sum 
of  money  had  got  into  the  hands  of  strangers.  The 
King,  seeing  this,  and  considering  that  the  use  of 
these  stuffs  was  very  good  and  desirable,  thought  it 
best  to  introduce  the  manufacture  into  France,  in 
order  that  the  French  might  profit  by  it  instead  of 
strangers.  To  this  purpose  he  gave  instructions  for 
the  planting  of  a  large  number  of  white  mulberry- 
trees  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where  they  could 
best  thrive,  and  particularly  in  Touraine,  to  rear  silk- 
worms. He  also  ordered  that  persons  who  under- 
stood the  manufacture  should  be  brought  to  France, 
for  the  purpose  of  teaching  the  French  people. 

If  care  had  been  taken  after  his  death  to  maintain 
this  order,  and  to  extend  it  to  other  provinces,  it 
might  have  saved  France  more  than  five  millions, 
which  it  sends  out  every  year  to  provide  silk  stuffs. 
Besides,  a  million  persons,  useless  for  other  labours, 
such  as  old  people,  young  women,  and  children,  might 
have  gained  a  living  by  it,  and  the  employers  would 
have  been  able  more  easily  to  pay  the  imposts  and 
taxes  out  of  the  profit  on  their  industry. 

There  was  yet  a  much  greater  mischief,  which,  as 


284  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

we  may  say,  dried  up  the  very  entrails  of  the  king- 
dom ;  this  was  the  excessive  usury.  Those  who  man- 
aged their  affairs  badly,  that  is  to  say,  the  greater 
part  of  the  nobility,  borrowed  money  at  ten  or  twelve 
per  cent.  In  this  there  were  two  great  inconven- 
iences. The  first  was  that  the  interest  gradually  dug 
up  the  foundations  of  the  richest  and  most  ancient 
houses,  which  are  the  props  and  pillars  that  uphold 
the  State.  The  second,  that  the  merchants,  taking 
the  opportmiity  to  lay  out  their  money  to  so  great 
advantage  and  without  any  risk,  absolutely  abandoned 
all  commerce,  the  streams  of  which  once  dried  up, 
there  must  needs  follow  a  famine  of  gold  and  silver 
in  the  kingdom,  for  France  hath  no  other  mines  than 
its  traffic  and  the  sale  of  its  merchandise. 

These  considerations  compelled  the  King  not  only 
to  prohibit  all  usury,  but  ordain  as  penalty  the  con- 
fiscation of  the  sum  lent,  and  heavy  fines  besides. 
Afterwards  the  Parliament  appointed  councillors  in 
all  provinces  to  make  inquiry  after  usurers,  and  to 
reduce  all  interests  or  mortgages  to  six  and  a  half 
per  cent.  They  were  before  this  ten  or  twelve  per 
cent.,  as  we  have  said.  The  reason  of  this  high  per- 
centage was  that  when  usury  was  instituted  money 
was  much  more  scarce ;  but  now  that  since  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Indies  it  was  greatly  multiplied,  it  was 
only  just  to  abate  its  interest. 

With  the  same  object  of  enriching  his  people  and 


HENRI   IV.  285 

of  bringing  abundance  and  plenty  into  his  kingdom, 
the  King  always  listened  to  proposals  which  might 
serve  to  enlarge  commerce,  to  bring  comfort  to  his 
people,  and  to  till  and  make  fruitful  the  most  sterile 
places.  He  endeavoured  as  much  as  it  was  possible 
to  make  rivers  navigable ;  he  caused  all  bridges  and 
causeways  to  be  repaired,  and  the  great  roads  to  be 
paved,  knowing  that  whilst  they  are  not  well  kept 
travelling  is  difficult,  and  commerce  is  by  that  means 
interrupted,  whence  happen  the  same  disorders  in  a 
kingdom  as  in  a  man's  body  when  the  passage  of  the 
blood  and  senses  are  not  free. 

When  Henri  passed  through  the  country  he  care- 
fully regarded  all  things,  took  notice  of  the  necessities 
and  disorders,  and  remedied  all  with  promptitude. 
Under  his  favour  and  protection  were  established  in 
many  parts  of  the  kingdom  manufactures  of  linen 
and  woollen  cloths,  laces,  ironware,  and  other  things. 

Following  his  example,  the  burgesses  repaired  their 
houses  which  the  war  had  ruined.  The  gentlemen, 
having  laid  by  their  arms,  having  only  a  switch  in 
their  hands,  devoted  themselves  to  the  management 
of  their  estates,  and  to  augmenting  their  revenues. 
All  the  people  attended  to  their  work ;  and  it  was  a 
wonder  to  see  this  kingdom,  which  five  or  six  years 
before  had  been,  we  may  say,  a  den  of  serpents  and 
venomous  beasts,  filled  with  thieves,  robbers,  vaga- 
bonds, and  good-for-nothing  persons,  changed  by  the 


286  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

diligence  of  the  King  into  a  hive  of  innocent  bees, 
who  emulated  each  other  in  giving  proofs  of  their 
industry  and  in  gathering  wax  and  honey.  Idleness 
was  a  disgrace  and  a  kind  of  crime ;  and  indeed  it  is, 
as  the  proverb  says,  the  mother  of  all  vices.  The 
mind  which  takes  no  care  to  employ  itself  seriously 
in  something  is  unprofitable  to  itself  and  pernicious 
to  the  public.  And  therefore  the  provosts  made  dili- 
gent search  for  loiterers,  vagabonds,  and  low  persons, 
and  sent  them  to  the  galleys  to  serve  the  King,  to 
make  them  work  whether  they  would  or  no. 

There  is  no  happiness  so  stable  and  assured  that  it 
may  not  be  easily  troubled.  There  happened  this 
year  two  things  which  might  have  overturned  all 
France,  had  not  the  King  averted  them  in  good  time. 

The  assembly  of  the  notables  or  chiefs  at  Rouen, 
which  was  held  in  the  year  1596  to  raise  money  for 
the  King  to  continue  the  war  and  pay  his  debts,  had 
granted  him,  as  we  have  said,  the  imposition  of  one 
sou  per  pound  on  all  merchandise  carried  into  walled 
cities.  "  The  State,"  says  Tacitus,  the  greatest  poli- 
tician among  historians,  "  cannot  be  maintained  with- 
out forces,  nor  the  forces  without  payment,  nor  these 
paid  without  impositions ;  consequently  they  are  nec- 
essary, and  it  is  just  that  every  one  should  contribute 
to  the  expenses  of  a  State  of  which  he  makes  a  part, 
as  well  as  partake  of  those  conveniences  and  that 
protection  it  enjoys.     But  these  impositions  ought  to 


HENRI  IV.  287 

be  moderate,  proportionate  to  the  power  of  every  one ; 
and  every  one  ought  to  bear  his  part.  Moreover,  care 
should  be  taken  that  the  expense  of  raising  them  ex- 
ceed not  the  principal ;  that  they  be  not  levied  so  as 
to  appear  odious,  as  on  commodities  which  are  the 
sustenance  of  the  poor  ;  and  that  they  be  blood  drawn 
gently  from  the  veins,  and  not  marrow  forced  from 
the  bones."  Now  this  imposition  of  a  sou  per  pound 
was  not  of  this  nature.  It  was  very  oppressive ;  for 
in  every  city  they  searched  the  merchants'  goods, 
opened  their  bales,  and  saw  all  that  was  brought  to 
them,  so  that  liberty  was  quite  lost  in  the  kingdom. 
Moreover,  it  was  excessive ;  for  on  any  merchandise 
ten  or  twelve  times  sold,  it  was  found  that  it  paid  as 
much  in  taxation  as  it  was  worth.  There  was  also 
great  expense  in  the  farming  of  it;  for  men  were 
forced  to  employ  as  many  factors  as  would  have 
formed  an  army,  who,  all  desiring  to  make  themselves 
rich  as  well  as  their  masters,  were  so  vexatious  to 
the  merchants  that  the  latter  became  desperate.  And 
the  strangest  thing  of  all  was  that  there  were  in  the 
King's  Council  pensioners  to  these  farmers,  who  sup- 
ported them  in  their  violences,  and  rejected  all  the 
complaints  made  of  their  misdemeanours. 

The  people  are  always  subject  to  the  criminal  error 
of  considering  that  when  justice  is  denied  them  they 
may  do  it  themselves,  and  have  recourse  to  force  when 
their  prayers  are  of  no  avail.     This  is  the  cause  of 


288  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

almost  all  seditions,  and  it  made  all  those  beyond  the 
Loire,  incensed  at  this  imposition,  drive  away  the  fac- 
tors, and  even  kill  some  of  them.  The  farmers,  on 
the  other  hand,  increased  the  mischief  by  their  furious 
threats  that  they  would  dismantle  the  rebellious  cities, 
and  that  they  would  build  citadels  to  keep  them  in 
awe.  And  I  believe  that  these  gentlemen  desired  it 
to  be  so,  not  from  love  to  the  King's  authority,  of 
which  they  were  always  talking,  but  for  their  own 
private  revenge  and  advantage. 

The  King,  hearing  of  these  commotions,  and  fear- 
ing lest  they  were  raised  by  the  emissaries  of  the 
faction  of  the  Due  de  Biron,  which  he  had  just  then 
discovered,  shortly  after  Easter  departed  from  Fon- 
tainebleau,  arrived  at  Blois,  and  went  from  there  to 
Poitiers.  There  he  favourably  hearkened  to  the  com- 
plaints of  his  people,  and  remonstrated  with  the  depu- 
ties of  the  cities  of  Guienne,  saying  that  the  imposts 
raised  were  not  to  enrich  his  ministers  and  favourites, 
as  had  been  the  custom  of  his  predecessor,  but  to  pro- 
vide the  necessary  expenses  of  the  State ;  that  if  his 
means  had  been  sufficient  for  it,  he  would  not  have 
taken  anything  out  of  his  subjects'  purses ;  but  since 
he  had  first  employed  all  his  own,^  it  was  just  that 
they  should  contribute  some  of  theirs  ;  that  he  pas- 
sionately desired  the  ease  of  his  subjects,  and  that 
none  of  his  predecessors  had  so  much  wished  for  their 

1  He  had  sold  the  lands  of  his  patrimony. 


HENRI   IV.  289 

prayers  to  God  to  bless  the  years  of  his  realm  as  he ; 
that  those  stories  told  them  of  his  design  to  build 
castles  in  their  cities  were  false  and  seditious,  for  he 
desired  to  have  no  other  forts  than  the  hearts  of  his 
subjects. 

By  these  gentle  remonstrances  he  calmed  all  the 
seditions  without  having  need  of  chastising  them,  ex- 
cepting that  the  consuls  of  Limoges  were  deposed,  and 
the  pancarte  (for  so  they  called  the  tax)  established. 
But  this  was  only  for  the  honour  of  the  royal  author- 
ity, for  shortly  after  this  the  Prince,  the  be^  and 
most  just  that  ever  lived,  knowing  the  great  vexation 
it  caused,  revoked  and  entirely  abolished  it. 

The  second  thing,  which  gave  him  yet  more  trou- 
ble, and  which  bade  fair  to  overthrow  his  kingdom  if 
it  were  not  remedied,  was  the  conspiracy  of  Mar^chal 
de  Biron.  It  should  be  understood  that  Laffin  had 
been  the  principal  instrument  in  the  intrigue  between 
the  Marshal  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  He  had  carried 
letters  to  and  fro,  and  had  had  conferences  with  the 
Duke  and  with  the  Count  of  Fuentes,  so  that  he  under- 
stood the  whole  business.  But  seeing  that  there  was 
no  faith  to  be  placed  in  the  words  of  the  Savoyard, 
and  that  Biron  seemed  to  waver,  he  resolved  to  reveal 
the  whole  plot  to  the  King,  either  because  he  feared 
that,  if  he  too  long  delayed  it,  it  might  be  got  wind  of 
by  other  means,  or  because  he  hoped  by  this  service 
to  gain  a  substantial  reward  and  restore  himself  to 


290  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  favour  of  the  King,  with  whom  he  was  on  very 
bad  terms. 

Having  laid  his  plans,  he  employed  the  Vidame  ^  de 
Chartres,  his  nephew,  to  obtain  from  the  King  his 
grace  and  forgiveness  for  all  he  had  done,  on  con- 
dition that  he  disclosed  to  him  his  accomplices  in  the 
conspiracy  and  furnished  him  with  proofs.  He  had 
preserved  several  letters  committed  to  his  keeping ; 
but  they  were  not  sufficiently  incriminating.  He 
therefore  took  steps  to  procure  one  which  would  serve 
his  purpose. 

Biron  had  some  notes  written  with  his  own  hand, 
wherein  the  conspiracy  was  fully  set  out.  Laffin 
pointed  out  to  him  that  it  was  imprudent  to  keep 
them  and  to  communicate  them,  because  his  writing 
was  too  well  known,  and  that  it  would  be  safer  to 
make  a  copy  and  burn  the  original.  Biron,  approving 
his  counsel,  gave  them  to  him  to  transcribe.  He 
therefore  transcribed  them  whilst  Biron  was  in  bed. 
Then,  giving  him  the  copy  and  crumpling  up  the 
original,  he  made  a  pretence  of  casting  it  into  the 
fire ;  but  by  a  premeditated  cunning  he  cast  in  some 
other  papers  and  kept  the  original.  A  thing  of  this 
importance  was  worthy  the  care  of  Biron  himself,  so 
that  he  might  be  sure  of  the  documents  being  burnt ; 
but  he  not  taking  it,  because  God  so  willed,  that  neg- 
ligence cost  him  his  life,  as  we  shall  see. 

1  A  vidame  is  a  nobleman  who  holds  in  fief  of  a  bishop. 


HENRI   IV.  291 

After  this,  Laffin,  continuing  his  endeavours  to 
gather  some  more  important  secrets,  went  disguised 
to  Milan.  He  conferred  with  the  Count  of  Fuentes ; 
but  this  close  and  able  Spaniard,  knowing  well  that 
he  would  betray  them,  showed  himself  more  reserved. 
It  has  been  reported  that  Laffin,  having  knowledge  of 
this  distrust,  was  fearful  lest  he  should  cause  him  to 
be  got  rid  of,  and  therefore  returned  by  unfrequented 
roads.  The  Duke  of  Savoy,  being  informed  of  this 
by  Fuentes,  kept  prisoner  the  secretary  of  Laffin, 
named  Renaz^,  for  fear  lest  he  should  go  and  bear 
witness  against  Biron. 

In  their  conferences  they  had  proposed  to  dis- 
member the  kingdom  of  France.  The  Duke  of  Savoy 
was  to  have  Provence  and  the  Dauphinate ;  to  Biron 
was  allotted  Burgundy  and  La  Bresse,  with  the  third 
daughter  of  the  Duke  in  marriage,  and  fifty  thousand 
crowns  for  dowry ;  while  some  others  were  to  be  nobles 
of  other  provinces,  with  the  quality  of  peers.  All  these 
petty  sovereigns  should  hold  their  right  from  the  King 
of  Spain.  To  accomplish  this  design,  the  Spaniards 
had  agreed  to  enter  the  kingdom  with  one  powerful 
army,  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy  with  another.  They 
intended  to  arouse  the  Huguenots,  and  at  the  same 
time  revive  discontents  in  various  places  and  animate 
the  people,  already  much  incensed  by  the  payicarte. 

All  these  propositions,  it  is  said,  were  made  at  the 
time  of  the  war  against  Savoy ;  and  the  Mar^chal  de 


292  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

Biron,  being  incensed  at  the  King's  refusal  to  give 
him  the  citadel  of  Bourg,  had  not  only  lent  his  ear, 
but  had  involved  himself  very  deeply  in  these  dam- 
nable designs.  However,  he  seemed  to  have  repented 
of  them,  for  he  had  confessed  them  to  the  King  while 
walking  with  him  in  the  cloister  of  the  Cordeliers  ^ 
at  Lyons,  and  had  asked  pardon  of  him ;  but  he  had 
neglected  to  obtain  a  written  forgiveness,  contrary  to 
the  advice  of  the  Due  d'Epernon,  who  was  wiser  and 
more  prudent  than  he. 

Shortly  after,  sorry  that  he  had  abandoned  his 
designs,  he  again  began  to  intrigue  against  the 
King.  Moreover,  he  spoke  of  the  King  with  little 
respect,  belittling  the  splendour  of  his  worthy  actions, 
glorifying  his  own,  and  boasting  that  he  had  put  the 
crown  on  the  King's  head  and  preserved  France.  In 
fact,  all  his  discourses  were  bravadoes,  rhodomontades, 
and  threats. 

All  this  was  reported  to  the  King.  He  was  in- 
formed that  Biron  undervalued  his  great  deeds, 
extolled  the  power  of  the  King  of  Spain,  praised  the 
wisdom  of  that  Prince's  Council,  his  liberality  in 
rewarding  all  good  services,  and  his  zeal  in  defence 
of  the  true  religion.  The  King  answered  cleverly  and 
prudently  to  those  who  brought  him  these  reports, 
that  he  knew  the  heart  of  Biron,  and  that  it  was 
faithful  and  affectionate ;  that,  in  truth,  his  tongue 

1  The  Franciscan  monks. 


HENRI   IV.  293 

was  intemperate,  but  that  in  consideration  of  those 
good  actions  he  had  done  he  would  pardon  his  unwise 
speech. 

Now  two  things  consummated  his  ruin,  and  obliged 
the  King  to  search  to  the  very  bottom  of  his  wicked 
designs.  The  first  was  the  too  great  number  of  his 
friends,  and  the  affection  of  the  soldiery,  which  he 
made  boast  of,  as  if  they  had  been  entirely  dependent 
on  his  command  and  ready  to  do  whatever  he  wished. 
The  second  was  the  great  friendship  he  had  with  the 
Comte  d'Auvergne,  brother  by  the  mother's  side  to 
Mademoiselle  d'Entragues,  who  was  called  the  Mar- 
quise de  Verneuil.  By  the  first  he  made  the  King 
jealous,  and  caused  himself  to  be  feared ;  and  by  the 
other  he  rendered  himself  odious  to  the  Queen,  who 
imagined,  and  possibly  not  without  cause,  that  he 
would  make  a  party  in  the  kingdom  to  maintain 
that  rival  and  her  children,  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
Queen. 

Now  the  King,  desiring  to  sift  this  affair  to  the 
bottom,  sent  for  Laffin,  who  came  to  Fontainebleau, 
more  than  a  month  before  the  King  departed  for 
Poitou.  He  had  at  first  some  secret  interviews  with 
him,  and  afterwards  very  open  ones.  Laflfin  gave  the 
King  a  large  number  of  papers,  amongst  others  those 
notes  in  Biron's  own  hand  of  which  we  have  before 
spoken.  Laffin's  information  to  the  King  caused  great 
disquietude  in  his  spirit,  so  that  all  the  time  he  was  at 


294  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Poitiers  he  was  observed  to  be  extremely  pensive,  and 
the  Court,  after  his  example,  was  plunged  in  a  sad 
astonishment,  though  none  could  divine  the  cause. 

On  his  return  from  Poitiers  to  Fontainebleau  he 
sent  for  the  Due  de  Biron.  The  Duke  at  first  hesi- 
tated about  coming,  and  excused  himself  with  many 
weak  reasons.  The  King  pressed  him,  and  sent  some 
of  his  squires  to  him  ;  afterwards  the  President  Jeannin 
brought  him  word  that  he  should  receive  no  harm, 
provided  he  prepared  himself  to  receive  grace,  and 
did  not  aggravate  his  crime  by  his  pride  and  im- 
penitence. 

Biron  knew  that  Laffin  had  been  to  the  Court,  but 
he  was  more  assured  of  that  man  than  of  himself. 
Moreover,  the  Baron  de  Lux,  his  confidant,  who 
was  there  at  the  time,  had  told  him  that  Laffin  had 
undoubtedly  kept  his  counsel,  and  had  not  revealed 
anything  which  might  injure  him.  De  Lux  believed 
this  to  be  true,  because  the  King,  after  having  enter- 
tained Laffin,  had  told  him,  with  a  merry  countenance, 
"  I  am  glad  I  have  seen  this  man ;  he  has  eased  me 
of  many  distrusts  and  suspicions." 

In  the  meantime  the  friends  of  Biron  wrote  to  him 
not  to  be  such  a  fool  as  to  come  to  the  Court ;  that 
it  would  be  safer  for  him  to  justify  himself  by  attorney 
than  in  person.  But  notwithstanding  this  advice,  and 
against  the  warning  of  his  own  conscience,  after  hav- 
ing deliberated  for  some  time,  he  came  to  Fontaine- 


HENRI   IV.  295 

bleau,  when  the  King  no  longer  expected  him,  but 
was  making  preparations  for  his  arrest. 

The  histories  of  that  time  recount  exactly  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  trial,  imprisonment,  and  death 
of  the  Marshal.  I  shall  content  myself  with  the  most 
important. 

The  insolence  and  blindness  of  this  unhappy  man 
cannot  be  sufficiently  wondered  at ;  nor,  on  the  con- 
trary, can  the  goodness  and  clemency  of  the  King, 
who  endeavoured  to  overcome  his  obstinacy,  be  enough 
praised.  Confession  of  a  fault  is  the  first  sign  of 
repentance.  The  King,  speaking  to  him  privately, 
conjured  him  to  confess  all  those  communications  and 
treaties  he  had  made  with  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  pledg- 
ing his  faith  that  he  would  bury  all  in  eternal  obliv- 
ion. He  told  him  that  he  knew  well  enough  all  tlj.e 
particulars,  but  desired  to  hear  them  from  his  mouth, 
swearing  to  him  that,  though  his  fault  should  be 
greater  than  the  worst  of  crimes,  his  confession  should 
be  followed  by  an  unconditional  pardon.  Biron,  in- 
stead of  acknowledging  it,  or  at  least  excusing  him- 
self with  modesty,  as  speaking  to  his  justly  offended 
King,  insolently  answered  him  that  he  was  innocent, 
and  that  he  had  not  come  to  justify  himself,  but  to 
learn  the  names  of  his  backbiters,  and  demand  jus- 
tice, which  otherwise  he  would  procure  for  himself. 
Though  this  too  haughty  answer  greatly  aggravated 
his  offence,  the  King  nevertheless  gently  told  him  to 


296  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

think  further  of  it,  and  that  he  hoped  he  would  take 
better  counsel. 

The  same  day,  after  supper,  the  Comte  de  Soissons 
exhorted  him  likewise,  on  the  part  of  the  King,  to 
confess  the  truth,  concluding  his  advice  with  that 
sentence  of  the  wise  man,  "  Sir,  know  that  the  anger 
of  the  King  is  as  the  messenger  of  death."  But  Biron 
answered  him  more  fiercely  than  he  had  the  King. 

The  next  morning  the  King,  whUst  walking  in  his 
gardens,  again  conjured  him  to  confess  the  conspiracy, 
but  he  could  draw  notliing  from  him  but  protestations 
of  innocence  and  threats  against  his  accusers. 

Upon  this  the  King  felt  himself  agitated  even  to 
the  bottom  of  his  soul  with  conflicting  thoughts,  not 
knowing  what  he  ought  to  do.  The  affection  he  had 
borne  him,  as  well  as  his  great  services,  withheld  the 
King's  just  anger  from  him  ;  but  the  gross  blackness 
of  his  crime,  added  to  his  pride  and  obstinacy,  gave 
rein  to  his  justice,  and  incited  him  to  punish  the 
criminal.  Besides,  the  danger  with  which  both  his 
State  and  person  were  threatened  seemed  impossible 
to  be  averted  otherwise  than  by  cutting  off  the  head 
of  a  conspiracy  the  foundation  of  which  was  scarce 
visible. 

In  this  trouble  of  spirit  he  retired  to  his  closet, 
and,  falling  on  his  knees,  prayed  to  God  with  all  his 
heart  to  inspire  him  with  a  good  resolution.  He  was 
accustomed  to  act  thus  in  all  his  great  affairs,  esteem- 


HENRI   IV.  297 

ing  God  as  his  surest  counsellor  and  most  faithful 
assistance.  After  his  prayer,  as  he  said  afterwards,  he 
found  himself  delivered  from  his  trouble,  and  resolved 
to  hand  Biron  over  to  justice,  if  his  Council  found 
that  the  proofs  they  had  in  writing  were  so  strong 
that  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  his  guilt.  He  chose 
for  this  purpose  four  of  his  Council,  to  wit,  Bellievre, 
Villeroy,  Rosny,  and  Sillery,  and  showed  them  the 
proofs.  They  declared  with  one  voice  that  they  were 
more  than  sufficient. 

Yet  after  this  he  made  a  third  attempt  to  subdue 
this  proud  heart.  He  employed  this  time  remon- 
strances, prayers,  and  assurances  of  pardon  if  he 
would  acknowledge  his  crime ;  but  he  answered  still 
in  the  same  manner,  adding  that  if  he  knew  his 
accusers  he  would  break  their  heads. 

At  last  the  King,  wearied  with  his  rhodomontades 
and  obstinacy,  left  him,  saying,  "  Well,  then,  we  must 
learn  the  truth  in  another  place.  Farewell,  Baron  de 
Biron."  These  words  were  as  lightning,  the  fore- 
runner of  the  thunderbolt  which  was  to  overwhelm 
him.  The  King,  by  degrading  him  from  the  many 
dignities  with  which  he  had  honoured  him,  showed 
that  he  was  about  to  abase  him  much  more  than  ever 
he  had  raised  him. 

On  coming  from  the  Queen's  chamber,  where  he 
had  been  playing  at  primero,  Vitry,  captain  of  the 
King's  Guard,  demanded  his  sword,  and  arrested  him 


298  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

as  his  prisoner.  Praslin,  also  captain  of  the  Guard, 
secured  the  Comte  d'Auvergne.  The  next  day  they 
were  conducted,  under  a  strong  escort,  by  water  to 
the  Bastille. 

Biron  had  a  very  large  number  of  friends ;  but  on 
this  occasion,  wherem  he  was  accused  of  having  con- 
spired against  the  person  of  the  King,  they  were  all 
mute.  His  relations  at  the  Court  cast  themselves  on 
their  knees  before  the  King,  not  to  demand  justice  of 
him,  but  to  implore  his  mercy.  Seigneur  de  la  Force, 
afterwards  Marshal  of  France,  spoke  for  them  all.  If 
Biron  had  at  first  spoken  with  as  much  humility  and 
submission  as  they  did,  he  would  doubtless  have  ob- 
tained the  King's  grace ;  but  it  was  now  too  late. 
There  was  now  no  room  for  clemency ;  it  had  given 
place  to  justice. 

The  King  commanded  his  Parliament  to  conduct 
the  trial,  and  sent  a  special  commission  to  the  chief 
president,  to  the  President  Potier  de  Blancmesnil,  and 
to  two  councillors,  to  draw  up  the  instructions  at  the 
request  of  the  attorney-general. 

The  proofs  were  very  strong,  and  the  defence  of 
Biron  very  weak.  He  showed  plainly  at  his  trial, 
which  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death,  that  he  had  less 
brains  than  heart;  for  he  acknowledged  his  writing, 
which  he  might  have  denied,  and  thus  have  gained 
time  until  it  could  be  proved.  The  document  had 
been  written  at  the  time  of  the  war  against  the  Duke 


HENRI  IV.  299 

of  Savoy.  He  pretended  that  the  King  had  pardoned 
him  at  Lyons  for  all  his  rebellious  actions.  But  the 
King  sent  letters  under  his  great  seal  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, by  which  he  revoked  that  grace ;  but  little 
account  was  taken  of  it,  because,  firstly,  the  grace  he 
had  granted  him  was  but  verbal ;  and,  secondly,  the 
Parliament  held  that  there  were  crimes  the  King 
could  not  pardon,  such  as  those  of  l^se-majestS,  divine 
and  human,  and  those  which  are  of  great  scandal  and 
prejudice  to  the  public.  When  they  came  to  the  re- 
examination and  confronting  of  witnesses,  and  pre- 
sented Laffin  to  Biron,  instead  of  reproaching  him  as 
a  man  who  was  incapable  of  bearing  true  witness,  he 
acknowledged  him  as  an  honest  man  and  a  brave  gen- 
tleman, but  afterwards,  when  he  heard  his  deposition 
read,  he  began  to  upbraid  him  and  to  call  him  traitor, 
magician,  and  devilish  fellow.  But  it  was  too  late, 
and  his  reproaches  no  longer  availed  him. 

He  believed  that  Renaz^  was  still  a  prisoner  in 
Piedmont ;  but  he  had  escaped  some  time  before,  and 
was  now  presented  to  him.  He  fancied  that  he  saw  a 
phantom  or  ghost.  He  remained  astonished  and 
dumb  ;  and  without  reproaching  him,  heard  -his  depo- 
sition, which  agreed  with  that  of  Laffin.  They  de- 
posed, besides  what  we  have  already  stated,  that  he 
had  plotted  with  the  Governor  of  Fort  St.  Catherine 
to  kill  the  King  when  he  went  to  reconnoitre  that 
place,  Biron  arranging  to  march  a  little  before  him. 


300  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

clad  in  a  certain  fashion,  in  order  that  he  might  be 
recognised.  They  said  likewise  that  another  of  his 
designs  was  to  seize  the  King  when  he  was  hunting, 
or  otherwise  ill-accompanied,  and  carry  him  off  into 
Spain. 

The  impeachment  being  thus  made  in  the  Bastille 
by  four  commissioners,  he  was  conducted  to  the  pal- 
ace down  the  river,  escorted  by  the  regiment  of  guards. 
He  was  tried  in  Parliament,  seated  on  the  sellette  or 
defendant's  stool,  all  the  chambers  of  the  Assembly 
except  the  peers  being  present,  though  they  also  had 
been  called.  Afterwards  he  was  taken  back  to  the 
Bastille. 

On  the  morrow  (31st  of  July,  1602)  it  was  put  to 
the  vote.  Of  one  hundred  and  fifty  judges,  there  was 
not  one  who  did  not  concur  in  the  sentence  of  death. 
He  was  declared  attainted  and  convicted  of  the  crime 
of  lese-majesty,  for  the  conspiracies  made  by  him 
against  the  person  of  the  King,  designs  upon  his 
estate,  treasons,  and  treaties  with  his  enemies,  he 
being  marshal  of  the  armies  of  the  said  King.  And 
for  reparation  of  his  crimes  he  was  deprived  of  all 
his  estates,  honours,  and  dignities,  and  condemned  to 
have  his  head  cut  off  in  the  Place  de  la  Greve ;  his 
goods,  movable  and  immovable,  taken  and  confiscated 
to  the  King ;  his  lands  of  Biron  for  ever  deprived  of 
the  title  of  peerage  ;  and  those  and  all  his  other  lands 
reunited  to  the  demesnes  of  the  Crown. 


HENRI   IV.  301 

The  King,  under  pretext  of  doing  a  favour  to  his 
kindred,  but  really  fearing  some  tumult,  because  Biron 
was  much  loved  by  the  soldiery  and  had  a  great  num- 
ber of  friends  at  Court,  changed  the  place  of  his  exe- 
cution to  the  Bastille.  The  chancellor,  going  with 
the  chief  president,  caused  him  to  be  led  to  the  chapel, 
where  about  ten  o'clock  he  pronounced  his  sentence, 
which  he  heard  with  one  knee  on  the  ground,  with  a 
great  deal  of  patience ;  only  when  they  came  to  the 
words,  "  conspiracies  against  the  person  of  the  King," 
he  rose  up  and  cried  out,  "  There  is  no  such  thing ; 
that  is  false  ;  blot  out  that  I  "  Finally,  the  chancellor, 
according  to  form,  redemanded  of  him  the  collar  of 
his  order,  his  ducal  crown,  and  his  marshal's  staff. 
He  had  not  the  last  two  with  him,  but  the  first  he 
drew  out  of  his  pocket  and  gave  up. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  recomit  all  his  discourses,  his 
reproaches,  his  passions,  his  lamentations,  his  exclama- 
tions, and  a  hundred  other  extravagances  (for  so  we 
may  call  them)  to  which  he  was  carried  away. 

About  five  o'clock  that  evening  he  was  led  to  the 
scaffold,  where  he  had  his  head  cut  off.  It  was 
observed  that  it  bounded  three  times,  forced  by  the 
impetuosity  of  his  spirits,  and  that  there  issued  more 
blood  from  it  than  from  the  trunk  of  his  body.^  He 
was  carried  to  the  Church  of  St.  Paul,  where  he  was 
buried  without  any  ceremony,  but  amidst  a  great  con- 

1  It  is  stated  that  the  executioner  was  obliged  to  strike  him  unawares. 


302  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

course  of  people,  who  all  had  tears  in  their  eyes,  and 
lamented  that  brave  spirit,  which  a  detestable  ambi- 
tion and  a  too  violent  pride  had  brought  to  so  unhappy 
an  end. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  Marshal  was  very 
ignorant,  but  extremely  curious  about  the  predictions 
of  astrologers,  diviners,  necromancers,  and  other  de- 
ceivers. It  was  held  likewise  that  Laffin  had  gained 
his  favour  by  making  him  believe  that  he  held  com- 
munication with  the  devil,  who  had  assured  him  that 
Biron  would  become  a  sovereign.  It  was  said  like- 
wise that  when  he  was  young  he  went  disguised  one 
day  to  see  a  fortune-teller,  who  foretold  that  he  should 
be  a  very  great  noble,  and  that  he  should  have  his 
head  cut  off,  upon  which,  being  annoyed,  he  outra- 
geously beat  him.  Another  diviner  told  him  that  he 
should  be  a  king,  if  a  blow  from  a  sword  behind  did 
not  prevent  it.  It  was  also  foretold  that  he  should  die 
by  the  hand  of  a  Burgundian  ;  and  it  was  found  that 
the  executioner  who  cut  off  his  head  was  a  native  of 
Burgundy. 

Laflfin  and  Renaze  obtained  full  pardon.  Hebert, 
secretary  to  Mardchal  de  Biron,  suffered  the  ordinary 
and  extraordinary  1  questioning  without  confessing 
anything,  yet  he  was  condemned  to  perpetual  impris- 
onment. Shortly  after,  the  King  gave  him  his  liberty ; 
yet  resentment  for  what  he  had  suffered  having  more 

1  The  rack. 


HENRI   IV.  303 

power  over  him  than  the  favour,  he  fled  to  Spain, 
where  he  ended  his  days. 

The  Baron  de  Lux,  Biron's  chief  confidant,  came 
to  Court  by  the  King's  command.  He  told  him  all 
that  he  knew,  and  possibly  more.  By  this  means  he 
obtained  his  pardon,  and  was  confirmed  in  his  offices, 
and  also  in  the  government  of  the  castle  of  Dijon  and 
the  city  of  Beaune.  The  King  kept  the  government 
of  Burgundy  for  the  Dauphin,  and  gave  the  lieuten- 
ancy to  Bellegarde,  who  afterwards  became  governor- 
in-chief. 

Montbarot,  Seigneur  de  Breston,  was  sent  to  the 
Bastille  on  certain  evidence  against  him,  but  being 
fomid  innocent,  he  was  soon  released. 

The  Baron  de  Fontanelles,  a  gentleman  of  good 
family,  was  not  so  fortunate.  For  having  a  hand  in 
the  conspiracy,  and,  in  addition,  treating  on  his  own 
account  with  the  Spaniards  with  regard  to  the  sur- 
render of  a  little  island  on  the  coast  of  Brittany,  he 
was  broken  on  the  wheel  by  sentence  of  the  great 
Council.  The  King,  in  consideration  of  his  family, 
which  was  illustrious,  granted  that  in  the  sentence 
he  should  not  be  called  by  his  proper  name,  but  his- 
tory could  not  be  silent  about  it. 

The  Due  de  Bourbon,  finding  himself  likewise 
somewhat  involved  in  the  Biron  affair,  judged  it 
convenient  to  retire  to  his  viscounty  of  Turenne, 
where  the  King,  being  informed  that  he   was  still 


304  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

plotting  against  him,  sent  for  him  to  come  and  jus- 
tify himself.  Instead  of  coming,  he  wrote  a  very- 
eloquent  letter,  in  which  he  stated  that,  knowing 
that  his  accusers  were  both  extremely  wicked  and 
very  cunning,  he  entreated  the  King  to  dispense  with 
his  coming  to  Court,  and  grant  that,  to  satisfy  his 
Majesty,  all  France,  and  his  own  honour,  he  should 
be  heard  at  the  Chamber  of  Castres,  by  virtue  of  the 
privilege  granted  to  those  of  the  pretended  reformed 
religion,  and  that  he  would  send  thither  his  accusers 
and  accusations.  In  pursuance  of  which  he  came  to 
Castres,  presented  himself  to  the  Chamber,  and  re- 
corded his  appearance.  The  King  was  not  at  all 
pleased  with  this  answer.  He  blamed  the  judges 
of  Castres  for  what  they  had  done,  and  sent  to  tell 
him  that  there  was  as  yet  no  question  of  handing 
him  over  to  justice,  and  that  therefore  he  desired  him 
to  come  to  Court  as  soon  as  possible. 

Being  informed  by  his  friends  at  Court  of  the  reso- 
lution of  the  King,  who  had  sent  President  Commar- 
tin  to  make  known  his  will,  the  Duke  departed  from 
Castres,  went  to  Orange,  passed  Geneva,  and  retired 
to  Heidelberg  to  the  Prince  Palatine,  saying  —  sage 
politician  that  he  was  —  that  he  ought  neither  to 
come  to  terms  with  his  King,  nor  go  near  him  whilst 
his  anger  lasted.  This  business  stood  still  some  years, 
and  we  shall  see  in  its  place  how  it  terminated. 

It  must  here  be  acknowledged  that  the  favour  of 


HENRI   IV.  305 

Rosny  served  at  this  time  as  a  pretext  to  almost  all 
the  discontents  and  conspiracies  of  the  nobles.  The 
King  had  given  him  four  or  five  important  posts,  be- 
cause he  believed  he  could  not  sufficiently  recompense 
those  services  he  had  rendered  him.  In  this  the  King 
merits  only  praise,  for  a  good  master  cannot  do  too 
much  for  a  good  and  faithful  servant.  But  though 
the  troublesome  and  discontented  spirits  might  com- 
plain that  the  King  gave  him  too  many  posts  and  em- 
ployments, yet  they  could  not  lament  his  giving  him  too 
much  power,  or  that  he  gave  it  to  him  alone ;  for  we 
may  truthfully  say  that  Rosny  had  not  the  liberty  to  do 
anything  of  his  own  accord.  He  was  forced  in  all  things 
to  address  himself  directly  to  the  King,  who  would 
himself  distribute  his  favours  and  recompenses  to 
those  he  thought  worthy,  so  that  they  might  acknowl- 
edge the  whole  obligation  as  coming  from  him.  This 
great  Prince  knew  well  that  he  who  gives  all  may  do 
all,  and  that  he  who  gives  nothing  is  nothing  but  what 
it  may  please  him  who  gives  all.  He  had  too  much 
courage  and  too  much  pride  to  suffer  that  another 
should  act  in  the  most  noble  function  of  his  royal 
authority.  Whatever  favour  or  familiarity  any  had 
with  him,  if  they  did  not  conduct  themselves  with  a 
profound  respect,  or  if  they  failed  to  speak  or  act  as 
they  ought  with  their  master  and  their  King,  they 
would  doubtless  soon  fall  into  disgrace ;  this  was,  as 
we  have  observed,  one  of  the  causes  of  Biron's  fall 


306  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Judge,  then,  if  he  who  would  not  allow  any  to  act 
the  companion  with  him  would  allow  them  to  act  the 
sovereign.  Judge,  also,  if  he  would  have  been  content 
that  his  ministers  should  simply  take  his  consent  on 
any  matter,  or  that  they  should  speak  to  him  of  things 
for  conscience'  sake,  after  having  themselves  resolved 
on  them.  No ;  without  doubt  he  wished  everything  to 
proceed  from  his  initiative,  that  the  choice  should  be 
his,  that  he  alone  should  have  the  power  to  raise  up 
and  cast  down,  and  that  none  but  himself  should  be 
the  arbiter  of  the  fortunes  of  his  subjects.  Not  but 
that  he  considered,  as  was  just,  the  recommendations 
of  the  great  men  of  his  realm  as  well  as  of  his 
ministers  in  conferring  favours,  employments,  and 
posts,  but  it  was  always  in  such  a  manner  that  he 
made  the  recipients  know  that  they  owed  them  to  him 
alone,  which  the  following  example  well  demonstrates. 
The  bishopric  of  Poitiers  having  become  vacant, 
Rosny  instantly  besought  him  to  consider  on  this  oc- 
casion one  Frenouillet,  well  known  as  a  clever  man 
and  a  great  preacher.  Notwithstanding  this  recom- 
mendation, the  King  gave  it  to  the  Abbot  of  Roche- 
posai,  who  himself  possessed  many  good  qualities,  and 
was  son  of  a  gentleman  who  had  served  him  well  with 
his  sword  in  wars,  and  with  his  knowledge  and  talents 
in  embassies.  Some  time  after,  the  bishopric  of 
Montpellier  became  vacant.  The  King  himself  sent 
for  Frenouillet,  and  told  him  that  he  would  give  it  to 


HENRI   IV.  307 

him,  but  on  condition  that  he  should  acknowledge  no 
obligation  to  any  but  him.  By  this  it  may  be  seen 
that  he  really  considered  the  recommendation  of 
Rosny  ;  but  it  may  likewise  be  perceived  that  the 
power  of  that  favourite  who  was  the  cause  of  so  much 
jealousy  was  limited.  I  call  him  favourite  because  he 
had  the  most  splendid  employments,  though  actually 
he  had  no  preeminence  over  others  of  the  Council,  for 
Villeroy  and  Jeannin  were  more  considered  than  he  in 
negotiations  and  foreign  affairs,  as  were  Bellievre  and 
Sillery  for  justice  and  policy  and  home  affairs  ;  and  it 
must  not  be  imagined  that  either  in  any  way  depended 
on  Rosny.  There  was  only  one  head  in  the  State,  and 
that  was  the  King,  who  chose  all  his  members,  and 
from  whom  alone  they  received  spirit  and  force. 

About  the  end  of  this  year,  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
thinking  to  revenge  and  compensate  himself  for  the 
loss  of  his  county  of  Bresse  on  the  city  of  Geneva, 
attempted  to  take  it  by  storm.  The  enterprise  was 
planned  by  Seigneur  d'Albigny,  and  the  Duke,  having 
passed  the  mountains,  believed  it  to  be  infallible. 
D'Albigny  conducted  two  thousand  men  to  within 
half  a  league  of  the  city,  yet  was  not  so  rash  as  to  ex- 
pose himself,  but  left  the  direction  of  the  attack  to 
others.  At  first  it  was  completely  successful ;  more 
than  two  hundred  men  mounted  the  ladders,  gained 
the  ramparts,  and  ran  through  all  the  city  without  be- 
ing perceived.     In  the  meantime  the  burgesses  were 


308  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

awakened  by  the  cries  of  some  of  the  guard,  who  had 
seen  some  of  the  assailants,  and  who  had  been  at- 
tacked by  them.  A  gunner,  who  was  to  have  broken 
a  gate  inside,  to  enable  those  without  to  enter,  was 
slain,  after  which  they  were  overwhelmed  on  all  sides. 
The  greater  part  endeavoured  to  regain  their  ladders, 
but  these  having  been  broken  to  pieces  by  the  cannon, 
there  was  no  means  of  escaping,  and  they  were 
nearly  all  slain,  or  broke  their  necks  by  leaping  into 
the  ditch.  Thirteen  were  taken  alive,  mostly  gentle- 
men, amongst  them  being  Artignac,  who  had  served 
as  second  in  command  to  Don  Phillipin.  They  yielded 
on  the  assurance  that  they  should  be  treated  as  pris- 
oners of  war,  but  the  furious  cries  of  the  common 
people,  who  represented  the  danger  in  which  their  city 
was  of  massacres,  violation,  universal  destruction,  or 
perpetual  slavery,  forced  the  Council  of  this  little  re- 
public to  condemn  them,  like  thieves,  to  the  infamous 
death  of  the  gibbet.  Their  heads,  with  fifty-four 
others  of  those  who  were  killed,  were  stuck  on  poles, 
and  their  bodies  cast  into  the  Rhone. 

The  Duke  of  Savoy,  disheartened  by  such  ill-success, 
and  overwhelmed  with  the  reproaches  of  all  Christen- 
dom for  having  attempted  such  an  enterprise  in  time 
of  peace,  hastily  recrossed  the  mountains,  leaving  his 
troops  near  Geneva,  and  endeavoured  to  excuse  himself 
to  the  Swiss,  under  whose  protection,  as  well  as  under 
that  of  France,  the  city  was,  for  having  attempted  to 


HENRI   IV.  309 

surprise  it,  saying  that  he  had  not  done  it  to  trouble 
the  repose  of  the  confederation,  but  to  hinder  Lesdi- 
guieres  from  seizing  it  for  the  King. 

The  Dukes  of  Savoy  had  long  pretended  that  this 
city  appertained  to  their  sovereignty,  and  that  the 
bishops,  who  bore  the  title  of  earls  and  were  for  some 
time  in  control  of  it,  held  it  from  them.  This,  how- 
ever, the  bishops  never  acknowledged,  always  maintain- 
ing that  they  depended  immediately  on  the  Empire. 
The  Genevese,  on  their  part,  maintained  that  it  was  a 
free  city,  and  subject  in  temporal  things  neither  to 
their  bishops,  whom  they  expelled  in  1533  when  they 
unhappily  renounced  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  nor 
to  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  but  to  the  Empire  alone,  for 
which  reason  they  always  bore  the  eagle  displayed  on 
their  gates.  Both  had  very  specious  titles  to  show 
their  rights ;  but  at  that  time  the  city  of  Geneva  en- 
joyed full  liberty,  and  had  done  so  for  more  than  sixty 
years,  having  become  an  ally  of  the  cantons  of  Swit- 
zerland. Now  the  Swiss  were  comprehended  in  the 
Treaty  of  Yervins  as  allies  of  France,  and  in  conse- 
quence so  was  the  city  of  Geneva.  This  the  King  had 
declared  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy ;  it  did  not,  however, 
deter  the  latter  from  this  undertaking,  for  he  hoped 
that  if  it  succeeded  the  King  of  Spain  and  the  Pope 
would  uphold  him  in  it,  and  that  the  King  for  so 
small  a  thing  would  not  break  the  peace. 

The  Genevese,  furiously  incensed  against  the  Duke, 


310  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

began  to  make  war  courageously.  They  entered  his 
country  and  took  some  small  towns,  hoping  that  the 
King  and  the  Swiss  would  second  these  expressions  of 
their  resentment,  and  that  all  the  princes  of  Germany 
would  likewise  come  to  their  assistance.  But  the 
King  desired  to  keep  the  peace,  and  was  too  wise  to 
kindle  a  war  in  which  he  could  not  make  religion  and 
policy  agree,  or  unite  the  honour  and  interests  of 
France,  who  was  obliged  to  protect  her  allies,  with  the 
good  graces  of  the  Pope,  whose  duty  inclined  him  to 
destroy  the  Huguenots.  He  therefore  sent  De  Vic  to 
assure  the  Genevese  of  his  protection,  and  gave  them 
to  understand  that  peace  was  necessary  for  them  and 
war  ruinous,  and  that  they  ought  to  embrace  the  one 
and  shun  the  other.  Having  little  power  by  them- 
selves, and  not  being  able  to  do  anything  without  the 
King's  assistance,  they  were  obliged  to  consent  and 
enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  Savoyard,  in  which  it  was 
clearly  laid  down  that  they  were  included  in  the 
Treaty  of  Vervins,  and  that  the  Duke  could  not  build 
any  fortress  within  four  leagues  of  their  city. 

It  happened  about  the  same  time  that  the  city  of 
Metz  rose  against  the  governor  of  the  citadel,  who  was 
named  Sobole.  He  had  been  made  lieutenant  by  the 
Due  d'Epernon,  to  whom  Henri  III.  had  given  the 
government-in-chief,  but  had  deserted  this  Duke  and 
placed  himself  under  the  protection  of  the  King.  He 
had  a  brother  who  was  second  to  him  in  command. 


HENRI  IV.  311 

During  the  last  war  against  Spain  these  twG 
brothers  had  accused  the  principal  inhabitants  of 
Metz  of  having  conspired  to  deliver  the  city  to  the 
Spaniards.  Many  were  imprisoned,  and  some  put  to 
the  rack ;  but  none  were  found  guilty.  Therefore  the 
burgesses,  believing  with  reason  that  this  was  a  cal- 
umny, conceived  a  hatred  against  these  Soboles,  and 
drew  up  several  petitions  against  them,  accusing  them 
of  a  great  number  of  exactions  and  cruelties.  The 
Due  d'Epernon,  who  without  doubt  upheld  these  bur- 
gesses at  the  Court,  was  sent  by  the  King  to  settle 
this  difference.  The  Soboles,  who  had  offended  him, 
no  longer  trusted  him.  They  would  not  permit  him 
to  enter  the  strongest  citadel,  nor  let  the  garrison  go 
out  to  meet  him ;  so  that,  being  justly  incensed,  he 
made  matters  worse  instead  of  better,  and  roused  the 
anger  of  the  inhabitants  to  such  a  pitch  that  they  bar- 
ricaded themselves  against  the  Soboles.  The  King, 
who  knew  that  the  least  sparks  were  capable  of  kind- 
ling a  great  fire,  was  not  content  with  sending  La 
Yarenne,  but  went  himself,  being  desirous  of  visiting 
that  district.  Sobole  gave  the  place  into  the  King's 
hands,  and  he  gave  it  to  Arquien,  lieutenant-colonel 
of  the  regiment  of  guards,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant 
of  the  King,  to  command  in  the  absence  of  the  Due 
d'Epernon,  the  governor,  who  had  no  great  power 
while  the  King  lived. 

The  King  stayed  until  after  Easter  at  Metz.    Whilst 


312  HISTORIC    COURT   IVIEMOIRS. 

he  was  there,  he  listened  to  the  request  which  the  Jes- 
uits made  for  their  reestablishment.  He  reserved  his 
decision  until  he  went  back  to  Paris,  and  gave  leave  to 
Father  Ignatius  Armand  and  Father  Coton  to  come 
and  plead  their  cause.  This  they  did;  and  Father 
Coton,  being  clever  and  witty,  and  a  very  famous 
preacher,  soon  gained  the  favour  of  all  the  Court,  and 
pleased  the  King  so  well  that  he  obtained  from  his 
Majesty  the  reinstating  of  the  society  in  the  kingdom, 
contrary  to  the  opinion  and  advice  of  some  of  his 
Council.  He  then  reestablished  them  by  an  Act  which 
he  caused  to  be  confirmed  in  Parliament ;  and  caused 
the  pyramid  to  be  thrown  down  which  had  been 
erected  before  the  palace,  and  on  which  were  many 
cutting  sarcasms  in  verse  and  prose  against  these 
fathers.  Thus  their  banishment  was  gloriously  re- 
paired ;  and,  what  was  more  important,  the  King  kept 
with  him  Father  Coton  as  his  chaplain-in-ordinary  and 
confessor  and  director  of  his  conscience.  This  was 
not,  however,  till  the  year  1604. 

In  the  years  1602  and  1603  we  have  still  three  or 
four  important  things  to  observe.  The  first  is  that 
the  King  at  his  departure  from  Metz  went  to  Nancy 
to  visit  his  sister,  the  Duchesse  de  Bar,  who  died  the 
year  following,  childless.  The  second,  that  he  re- 
newed the  alliance  with  the  Swiss,  and  some  months 
after  with  the  Grisons,  notwithstanding  the  obstacles 
which  the  Count  of  Fuentes  put  in  the  way  of  it.    The 


HEj^RI  IV.  313 

third  is,  that  on  returning  to  Paris  he  received  news 
of  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  one  of 
the  most  illustrious  and  most  heroic  princesses  that 
ever  reigned,  and  who  governed  her  realm  with  more 
prudence  and  power  than  any  of  her  predecessors  had 
done.  There  was  nothing  wanting  to  the  happiness 
of  her  kingdom  save  the  Catholic  religion,  which  she 
banished  from  England.  And  we  might  give  her  the 
name  of  good  as  well  as  great,  if  she  had  not  dealt 
so  cruelly  as  she  did  with  her  cousin-german,  Mary 
Stuart,  Queen  of  Scotland,  whom  she  kept  as  a  pris- 
oner for  eighteen  years,  and  then  beheaded,  on  account 
of  some  conspiracies  which  the  servants  and  friends  of 
that  poor  Princess  had  made  against  her  person. 

James  VI.,  King  of  Scotland,  and  son  of  Mary, 
being  the  nearest  of  the  blood-royal  of  England,  suc- 
ceeded Elizabeth,  who  had  put  his  mother  to  death. 
He  caused  himself  to  be  called  King  of  Great  Britain, 
so  as  to  unite  under  the  same  title  the  two  Crowns  of 
England  and  Scotland. 

The  alliance  of  so  powerful  a  king  either  with 
France  or  Spain  might  make  the  balance  incline  to 
whichever  side  it  were  turned.  Therefore  the  Kings 
of  both  nations  immediately  sent  magnificent  ambassa- 
dors to  salute  him,  each  endeavouring  to  draw  him  to 
his  side.  Rosny  went  on  the  part  of  Henri  the  Great. 
He  obtained  the  confirmation  of  the  ancient  treaties 
between  France  and  England.      The  ambassador  of 


314  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Spain  was  not  so  fortunate  in  his  negotiations.  The 
Spaniards  were  forced  to  allow  that  the  place  of  treaty 
should  be  appointed  in  England,  and  to  grant  the 
English  free  traffic  in  all  their  territories,  even  in 
the  Indies,  and  also  give  them  liberty  of  conscience 
in  Spain,  so  that  they  should  not  be  subject  to  the 
Inquisition  nor  obliged  to  salute  the  holy  sacrament 
in  the  streets,  but  only  to  turn  aside. 

France  was  in  a  profound  peace,  externally  by  the 
renewal  of  the  alliances  with  the  Swiss  and  with  Eng- 
land, and  internally  by  the  discovery  of  the  conspir- 
acies, which  were  now  quite  overthrown.  The  King 
enjoyed  a  repose  worthy  his  labours,  and  his  past 
troubles  made  his  pleasures  all  the  more  sweet.  How- 
ever, he  was  not  idle,  for  he  endeavoured  with  as  much 
diligence  to  preserve  peace  as  he  had  used  corn-age  and 
valour  in  making  war. 

He  was  often  heard  to  say  that,  though  he  could 
make  the  empire  of  France  as  powerful  in  Europe  as 
that  of  the  Ottomans  was  in  Asia,  and  easily  conquer 
all  the  territories  of  his  neighbours,  yet  he  would  not 
do  so  great  a  dishonour  to  his  word,  by  which  he  was 
bound  to  preserve  peace. 

His  most  ordinary  diversions  during  this  time  were 
hunting  and  building.  He  at  the  same  time  main- 
tained workmen  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  at 
Orleans,  at  St.  Germain-en-Laye,  at  the  Louvre,  and 
at  the  Place  Royale. 


HENRI  IV.  315 

The  nobility  of  France  during  this  peace  could  not 
be  entirely  still.  Some  passed  their  time  in  hunting, 
others  with  ladies ;  some  in  pursuit  of  learning,  others 
in  travelling  into  foreign  countries  ;  while  others  again 
continued  the  exercise  of  war  under  Prince  Maurice 
in  Holland.  But  the  greater  part,  whose  hands,  as  it 
were,  itched,  and  who  sought  to  signalise  their  valour 
without  departing  from  their  country,  became  punctil- 
ious, and  for  the  least  word,  or  even  for  a  wry  look, 
put  their  hands  to  their  swords.  Thus  that  madness 
of  duels  entered  into  the  hearts  of  the  gentlemen  ;  and 
these  combats  were  so  frequent  that  the  nobility  shed 
as  much  blood  in  the  meadows  with  their  own  hands 
as  their  enemies  had  made  them  lose  in  battle. 

The  King  therefore  issued  a  second  and  most  severe 
edict,  which  prohibited  duels,  confiscating  the  goods  of 
those  who  disobeyed  his  orders,  and  rendering  their 
persons  liable  to  arrest.  For  a  while  this  prohibition 
chilled  the  ardour  of  the  most  violent;  but  because 
the  King  often  pardoned  this  crime,  not  being  able 
to  refuse  those  who  had  faithfully  served  him  in  his 
need,  in  a  little  time  the  trouble  became  almost  as 
bad  as  before. 

His  custom  of  receiving  from  all  persons  any  in- 
formation that  might  enrich  his  kingdom,  caused  him 
to  learn  that  there  were  in  various  places  in  France 
very  good  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  lead  mines ;  and 
that  if  they  were  worked,  there  would  be  no  need  to 


316  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

buy  from  strangers.  He  considered  also  that,  though 
no  great  profit  might  accrue  from  working  them,  yet 
many  idle  persons  might  be  employed ;  and  likewise 
that  those  criminals  whose  offences  did  not  merit 
death  might  be  condemned  for  so  many  years  to 
work  in  them.  He  therefore  made  an  Act  which  re- 
newed the  ancient  orders  concerning  the  officers, 
directors,  and  workers  of  mines ;  and  they  began  to 
work  in  the  Pyrenees,  where  it  is  most  certain  that 
there  formerly  was  gold,  and  that  there  still  is.  Had 
they  continued  this  labour,  they  might,  to  all  appear- 
ance, have  gained  notable  advantages ;  but  either 
through  the  negligence  of  the  overseers  or  the  im- 
patience of  the  French,  who  become  discouraged  with 
everything  that  does  not  at  once  fulfil  their  desires, 
this  work  was  discontinued. 

Another  very  great  convenience  for  Paris  was 
undertaken :  the  joining  of  the  rivers  Loire  and 
Seine  by  the  Briare  canal.  Rosny  laboured  in  this 
undertaking  with  much  outlay,  spending  upon  it 
nearly  three  hundred  thousand  crowns;  but  the 
work  was  interrupted,  for  what  reason  I  do  not 
know.  It  was  resumed  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XHI., 
and  was  then  completed. 

Another  scheme  was  also  proposed,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  join  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mediterranean, 
by  uniting  the  Garonne,  which  falls  into  the  Atlantic, 
and  the  Aube,  which  falls  into  the    Mediterranean 


HENEI  IV.  317 

below  Narbonne.  This  was  to  be  accomplished  by 
means  of  canals  comiecting  the  two  rivers.  The 
county  of  Languedoc  offered  to  contribute ;  but  diffi- 
culties arose  which  hindered  this  enterprise. 

Navigation  was  established  by  the  great  care  which 
the  King  had  taken  to  keep  his  coasts  in  security, 
and  to  punish  pirates  severely  when  they  were  caught. 
Ships  were  no  longer  content  to  make  voyages  to 
the  ordinary  places,  but  went  also  to  the  New  World, 
the  way  to  which  they  had  almost  forgotten  since  the 
time  of  Amiral  de  Coligny.  A  gentleman  of  Sain- 
tonge  named  Du  Gas  made,  with  the  King's  commis- 
sion, the  voyage  to  Canada. 

Among  all  these  things  we  must  not  forget  a  large 
number  of  new  religious  companies  which  were  or- 
ganised at  Paris.  Amongst  these  were  the  R^collets,^ 
who  were  a  branch  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  the 
Capuchins,  and  the  Feuillantines.^  There  were  also 
the  Carmelites  and  the  Barefooted  Friars,  both  of 
which  orders  came  from  Spain  ;  and  the  Brothers  of 
Charity,  vulgarly  called  the  "  ignorant  brothers,"  who 
came  from  Italy.  All  of  them  built  convents  out  of 
the  alms  and  charity  of  devout  persons. 

In  the  midst  of  this  profound  calm,  which  the 
King  enjoyed,  and  during  all  these  fair  occupations 

>  So  called  because  only  those  were  admitted  who  were  of  a  collected, 
serious  mind. 

s  Founded  at  Feuillant,  in  Languedoc. 


318  HISTORIC  COURT  MEMOIRS. 

which  were  worthy  of  him,  he  was  not  without 
troubles  and  vexations  which  perplexed  his  spirit. 
He  had  none  greater  than  those  in  connection  with 
his  wife  and  his  mistresses. 

"We  have  already  related  how  Mademoiselle  d'En- 
tragues  had  conquered  him.  He  had  given  her  the 
land  of  Verneuil,  near  Senlis,  and  had  made  it  a  mar- 
quisate.  After  he  was  married  his  infatuation  for  her 
continued,  and  he  took  her  with  him  on  all  his  jour- 
neys, and  gave  her  apartments  at  Fontainebleau. 

These  things  extremely  offended  the  Queen.  The 
pride  of  the  Marquise  more  furiously  incensed  her, 
for  she  always  spoke  of  the  Queen  in  terms  either  in- 
sulting or  disdainful,  sometimes  saying  that  if  justice 
were  done  she  should  occupy  the  place  of  that  fat 
banker.^ 

The  Queen,  on  her  side,  with  reason  hated  her, 
and  made  complaints  of  her  to  all  her  friends.  But 
this  was  not  the  way  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  King. 
She  would  have  acted  more  wisely  if  she  had  dissem- 
bled her  displeasure,  and  by  her  kindness  made  her- 
self paramount  in  that  heart  which  rightly  belonged  to 
her.  The  King  loved  to  be  flattered,  and  was  to  be 
gained  by  tenderness  and  affection.  The  philtre 
of  love  is  love  itself ;  and  it  was  this  that  she  ought 
to   have   employed   with   him,  and  not  grumblings, 

i  Alluding,  I  suppose,  to  the  dukes  of  Florence,  who  are  all  merchants, 
—  Tk. 


HENRI   IV.  319 

scorn,  and  evil  looks,  which  only  serve  more  and 
more  to  disgust  a  husband,  and  make  him  find 
more  pleasure  in  the  allurements  of  a  mistress  who 
takes  care  to  be  always  agreeable  and  obliging.  But 
instead  of  acting  in  this  manner  she  was  always  in 
contention  with  the  King.  She  exasperated  him  con- 
tinually by  her  complaints  and  reproaches ;  and  when 
he  sought  to  find  repose  from  the  cares  of  state  he 
encountered  nothing  but  gall  and  bitterness. 

She  had  among  her  attendants  a  Florentine  woman, 
daughter  of  her  nurse,  named  Leonora  Galigay,  a 
creature  extremely  ugly,  but  very  clever,  who  had 
won  the  affections  of  her  mistress  to  such  a  degree 
that  she  exercised  almost  unlimited  authority  over 
her.  It  has  been  said  that  this  woman,  fearing 
that  the  Queen,  her  mistress,  would  love  her  less  if 
she  perfectly  loved  the  King  her  husband,  kept  her 
from  him  as  much  as  she  could,  in  order  that  she 
might  the  better  retain  her  influence  over  her.  After- 
wards, so  that  she  might  have  an  accomplice  in  her 
designs,  she  married  a  Florentine  domestic  of  the 
Queen,  named  Concini,  of  slightly  better  extraction 
than  herseK,  being  grandson  of  Battista  Concini,  who 
had  been  secretary  to  Cosmo,  Duke  of  Florence. 

The  common  opinion  was,  that  these  two  persons 
laboured  conjointly,  as  long  as  the  King  lived,  to  keep 
alive  an  evil  spirit  in  the  Queen,  and  to  make  her 
always  troublesome  and  ill-humoured  towards  him ; 


320  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

SO  that  in  the  seven  or  eight  years  they  were  together, 
if  he  had  one  day  of  peace  and  quiet  with  her,  he  had 
ten  of  discontent  and  vexation.  In  this  the  King's 
fault  was  the  greater,  because  he  gave  the  occasion  of 
these  troubles ;  and  the  husband  being,  as  Saint  Paul 
says,  the  head  of  the  wife,  ought  to  set  her  a  good 
example,  and  keep  faithful  to  her. 

We  have  observed  this  once  for  all ;  but  we  cannot 
too  often  reflect  "  that  sin  is  the  cause  of  all  disorder, 
and  that  for  a  little  pleasure  it  causes  a  thousand 
troubles  and  a  thousand  mischiefs,  even  in  this  world 
itself."  The  King,  being  now  but  just  fifty  years  of 
age,  began  this  year  to  have  some  slight  attacks  of 
gout,  which  possibly  were  the  effects  of  his  excessive 
voluptuousness,  as  well  as  of  his  labours. 

To  return  to  the  Marquise.  It  happened  one  day 
that  the  Queen,  being  very  much  offended  at  her 
discourse,  threatened  her,  saying  that  she  ought  to 
know  how  to  bridle  her  evil  tongue.  The  Marquise 
upon  this  seemed  sad  and  grieved.  She  shunned  the 
King,  and  told  him  that  she  desired  that  he  would  no 
longer  demand  anything  of  her,  because  she  feared 
that  the  continuation  of  his  favours  would  be  prej- 
udicial both  to  her  and  her  children.  Her  design 
was  to  inflame  his  passion  more  by  showing  herseK 
more  difficult.  But  when  she  saw  that  her  cunning 
had  not  all  the  effect  she  hoped,  and  that  the  Queen's 
anger  was  increased  to  such  a  point  that  indeed  there 


HENRI  IV.  321 

was  some  danger  to  her  and  her  children,  she  decided 
on  another  plan.  D'Entragues,  her  father,  demanded 
permission  of  the  King  to  carry  her  out  of  the  king- 
dom to  avoid  the  vengeance  of  the  Queen.  The  King 
granted  her  demand  more  easily  than  she  thought  he 
■would ;  whereupon,  she,  being  exceedingly  enraged,  her 
father  and  the  Comte  d'Auvergne,  her  brother  by  the 
mother's  side,  began  to  treat  secretly  with  the  ambas- 
sador of  Spain  with  regard  to  taking  refuge  in  the 
territories  of  his  King,  casting  themselves  absolutely 
into  his  arms. 

The  ambassador  thought  that  this  business  would 
be  very  advantageous  to  his  master,  and  that,  in  the 
proper  time  and  place,  he  might  avail  himself  of  the 
promise  of  marriage  which  the  King  had  given  to  the 
Marquise.  He  therefore  readily  granted  them  all 
that  they  asked,  and  added  all  the  fair  promises  with 
which  weak  and  feeble  spirits  are  liable  to  be  intox- 
icated. 

The  King  had  granted  them  permission  to  retire 
from  France,  but  without  the  children,  believing  that 
they  would  go  to  England,  to  the  Duke  of  Lennox 
and  the  Earl  d'Aubigny,  of  the  House  of  Stuart,  who 
were  their  near  kinsmen.  When,  however,  he  under- 
stood that  they  were  desirous  of  retiring  to  Spain,  he 
resolved  to  hinder  them,  but  at  first  to  employ  fair 
means  to  do  it.  He  therefore  sent  for  the  Comte 
d'Auvergne,  who  was  then  at  Clermont,  and  was  so 


322  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

much  beloved  in  the  province  that  he  believed  he 
might  securely  stay  there.  He  refused  to  come 
before  he  had  his  pardon  granted  in  due  form  for 
all  that  he  might  have  done.  This  was  a  sort  of 
crime  to  dictate  terms  to  his  King,  who,  however, 
sent  him  the  pardon,  but  with  the  proviso  that  he 
should  make  his  immediate  appearance. 

This,  however,  did  not  allay  his  misgivings.  He 
remained  in  the  province,  where  he  kept  himself  on 
his  guard,  with  all  precautions  imaginable.  Never- 
theless, cunning  as  he  was,  the  King  by  a  clumsy 
artifice  entrapped  him.  Being  colonel  of  the  French 
cavalry,  D'Auvergne  was  desired  to  attend  a  muster 
of  a  company  of  the  Due  de  YendSme.  He  went 
well  mounted,  keeping  himself  at  a  good  distance,  that 
he  might  not  be  surprised.  Nevertheless,  D'Eurre, 
lieutenant  of  that  company,  and  Nerestan,  approaching 
him  to  salute  him,  mounted  on  ponies  so  as  to  remove 
his  suspicion,  but  with  three  soldiers  disguised  as  at- 
tendants, cast  him  from  his  horse  and  made  him  pris- 
oner. They  led  him  to  the  Bastille,  where  he  was 
seized  with  a  great  fear  when  he  found  himself  lodged 
in  the  same  chamber  where  the  Mar^chal  de  Biron, 
his  great  friend,  had  been. 

Immediately  afterwards  the  King  caused  D'En- 
tragues  also  to  be  arrested,  who  was  carried  to  the 
Conciergerie ;  ^  and  also  the  Marquise,  who  was  left 

1  These  were  prisons  in  the  jurisdiction  of  "  Parlemeuts  "  before  the 
BevoIutiOQ. 


HENRI  IV.  323 

in  her  lodgings  under  the  guard  of  the  Chevalier 
de  Guet.  Then,  desiring  to  make  known  by  public 
proofs  the  ill-intention  of  the  Spaniards,  who  seduced 
his  subjects  and  excited  and  fomented  conspiracies 
in  his  realm,  he  handed  over  the  prisoners  to  the 
Parliament,  who,  having  convicted  them  of  conspir- 
ing vrith  the  Spaniards,  declared  (1st  of  February) 
the  Comte  d'Auvergne,  D'Entragues,  and  an  English- 
man named  Morgan,  who  had  been  the  agent  of  the 
negotiations,  guilty  of  treason,  and  condemned  them 
to  be  beheaded  as  such.  They  also  ordered  the 
Marquise  to  be  conducted  with  a  strong  guard 
into  the  convent  at  Beaumont,  near  Tours,  where 
she  was  to  remain  until  more  ample  evidence  had 
been  produced  against  her,  at  the  request  of  the 
attorney-general. 

The  Queen  spared  no  solicitations  to  get  this 
sentence  pronounced,  believing  that  its  execution 
would  satisfy  her  resentment;  but  the  goodness  of 
the  King  was  proof  against  her  vindictiveness.  The 
love  which  he  had  for  the  Marquise  was  not  so 
entirely  extinct  that  he  could  resolve  to  sacrifice 
what  he  had  adored,  and  he  would  not  permit  them 
to  pronounce  the  sentence.  Two  months  and  a  half 
afterwards,  to  wit,  on  the  15th  of  April,  he,  by 
letters  imder  his  great  seal,  commuted  the  penalty 
of  death  on  the  Comte  d'Auvergne  and  the  Seigneur 
d'Entragues,  into  perpetual  imprisonment ;  and  that 


324  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

on  Morgan  to  perpetual  banishment.  Some  time 
after  he  changed  the  imprisonment  of  d'Entragues 
into  confinement  to  his  house  at  Malesherbes  in 
Beauce.  He  likewise  permitted  the  Marquise  to 
retire  to  Verneuil,  and  seven  months  having  passed 
without  the  attorney-general  procuring  any  proof 
against  her,  he  caused  her  to  be  declared  absolutely 
innocent  of  the  crime  of  which  she  was  accused. 

There  now  remained  only  the  Comte  d'Auvergne, 
who,  being  the  most  to  be  feared,  was  the  worst 
treated ;  for  the  King  not  only  kept  him  prisoner  at 
the  Bastille,  where  he  lay  for  twelve  whole  years,  but 
likewise  deprived  him  of  his  property  in  the  county 
of  Auvergne.  He  had  received  the  title  from  King 
Henri  HI. 

Queen  Marguerite  maintained  that  the  gift  of  the 
title  was  not  valid,  because  the  marriage  contract 
of  Catherine  de  M^dicis,  her  mother,  to  whom  that 
county  belonged,  allowed  substitution  of  her  goods, 
and  that  substitution,  she  said,  extending  to  daughters 
in  default  of  males,  the  county  was  to  come  to  her 
after  the  death  of  Henri  III.,  nor  could  he  give  it 
to  her  prejudice. 

The  Parliament  having  listened  to  her  reasons  and 
seen  her  proofs,  annulled  the  donation  made  by  Hem-i 
ni.,  and  awarded  her  this  county.  In  recompense 
of  this  obligation  and  many  others  she  had  received 
from  the  King,  she  bequeathed  all  her  estates  to  the 


HENRI   IV.  325 

Dauphin,  reserving  only  the  usufruct  of  them  for 
herself  during  her  life. 

The  Comte  d'Auvergne,  thus  despoiled,  remained 
in  the  Bastille  until  the  year  1616,  when  Queen 
Marie  de  M^dicis,  having  need  of  him  during  the 
trouhles,  delivered  him  thence,  and  caused  him  to  be 
justified.  She  caused  likewise  the  registers  of  Par- 
liament and  of  the  notaries  to  be  taken  off  the 
file,  with  all  informations  which  might  preserve 
the  memory  of  his  crime.  By  this  an  example  may 
be  seen  how  time  causes  a  mutability  in  all  things, 
and  how  it  changes  the  greatest  hatreds  into  the 
strongest  affections,  and,  on  the  contrary,  transmutes 
the  strongest  affections  into  mortal  hatreds. 

By  searching  into  the  plot  of  the  father  of  the 
Marquise  to  deliver  her  with  her  children  to  the 
Spaniards,  the  designs  of  the  Due  de  Bouillon  were 
likewise  discovered,  who  was  from  that  time  the  only 
person  able  to  give  the  King  any  trouble  in  his  own 
kingdom.  It  is  most  certain  that  this  Prince  had 
conferred  on  him  very  great  favours,  having  given 
him  the  staff  of  Marshal  of  France  and  arranged  his 
marriage  with  the  heiress  of  Sedan ;  and  this  noble- 
man had  likewise  very  well  served  him  in  his  greatest 
necessities.  But  after  the  King  became  converted  to 
the  Catholic  faith,  Bouillon  diminished  much  of  his 
affection,  and,  moved  partly  by  zeal  for  his  false 
religion   and  partly  by  ambition,  he  conceived   vast 


326  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

designs  of  making  himself  chief  and  protector  of  the 
Huguenot  party,  and  under  that  pretext  of  becoming 
master  of  the  provinces  beyond  the  Loire.  It  was 
beheved  that  with  this  object  he  had  much  helped 
to  exasperate  the  spirit  of  the  Mar^chal  de  Biron; 
and  also  that  he  had  made  a  treaty  with  the  Span- 
iards, who  were  to  furnish  him  with  what  money  he 
desired,  but  not  with  forces,  for  fear  of  becoming 
odious  to  the  Protestants. 

It  was  but  too  visible  that,  after  the  conversion  of 
the  King,  Bouillon  had  incessantly  laboured  to  arouse 
distrust  and  discontent  in  the  spirits  of  the  Huguenots, 
and  to  unite  them  into  a  compact  body,  persuading 
himself  that  that  body  must  necessarily  have  a  head, 
and  that  they  could  choose  no  other  but  himself ;  and 
for  these  reasons  many  assemblies  were  called,  and 
many  particular  and  general  synods  of  those  of  this 
religion  held,  wherein  nothing  was  heard  but  com- 
plaints and  murmurs  against  the  King,  whom  they 
continually  wearied  with  new  requests  and  demands. 

Moreover,  it  was  found  that  this  Duke  had  emis- 
saries and  servants  in  Guienne,  and  particularly  in 
Limousin  and  Quercy,  who  held  private  councils 
among  the  nobility,  distributed  money,  and  took 
oath  of  those  who  promised  him  service,  and  who 
had  formed  designs  against  ten  or  twelve  Catholic 
cities. 

The  King,  judging  that  he  ought  to  dig  up  the  root 


HENRI   IV.  327 

of  this  mischief  before  it  extended  further,  and  not 
knowing  indeed  how  far  it  might  extend,  resolved  to 
go  and  apply  the  remedy  himself.  He  departed  from 
Fontainebleau  in  December,  having  sent  before  him 
Jean  Jacques  de  Mesmes,  Seigneur  de  Roissy,  to  Li- 
moges, to  take  proceedings  against  those  who  were 
culpable. 

Immediately  all  this  conspiracy  vanished  in  smoke. 
The  best  advised  came  to  the  King  to  cast  themselves 
at  his  feet.  The  chief  agent  of  the  Due  de  Bouillon, 
being  informed  that  an  order  had  been  given  for  his 
arrest,  came  to  the  King  and  told  him  all  he  knew 
before,  and  a  great  deal  that  he  did  not  know.  The 
others  either  fled  out  of  the  kingdom  or  else  hid  them- 
selves. Five  or  six  unfortunate  persons,  being  taken, 
were  beheaded  at  Limoges,  and  their  heads  stuck  on 
the  tops  of  the  gates,  their  bodies  burnt,  and  the  ashes 
thrown  into  the  air.  Three  or  four  others  suffered  the 
same  punishment  at  P^rigord.  There  were  ten  or 
twelve  condemned  for  contumacy  and  their  effigies 
hanged ;  amongst  others,  Chappelle-Biron  and  Giver- 
sac  of  the  House  of  Cugnac.  But  in  all  these  pro- 
ceedings there  were  found  no  proofs  in  writing,  nor 
evidence  by  any  formal  deposition  against  the  Due 
de  Bouillon,  so  cunningly  had  he  managed  this  busi- 
ness. 

Before  these  executions  the  King,  having  made  his 
entrance  into  Limoges,  returned  to  Paris.    He   ear- 


328  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS, 

nestly  desired  that  after  this  the  Due  de  Bouillon 
should  acknowledge  and  humble  himself;  for  if  he 
remained  impenitent  he  would  be  obliged  to  prosecute 
him  to  the  utmost,  and  if  he  did  prosecute  him  he 
offended  all  that  great  body  of  Protestants  who  were 
his  faithful  allies.  He  therefore  secretly  employed 
all  means  which  he  could  devise  to  induce  him  to 
depend  on  his  clemency  rather  than  on  the  inter- 
cession of  strangers,  which  could  not  be  pleasing  to  a 
sovereign,  in  the  case  of  his  officer  and  subject.  The 
Duke  desired  even  more  than  he  to  extricate  himself 
from  this  trouble ;  but  he  believed  he  could  not  find 
security  at  Court,  because  Rosny,  who  was  not  his 
friend,  and  who  was  jealous  at  seeing  him  of  more 
consequence  than  himself  in  the  Huguenot  party,  had 
so  great  influence  with  the  King.  So  that  after 
many  treaties  and  negotiations,  the  King  resolved 
to  go  after  him  at  Sedan  with  an  army. 

Rosny  laboured  with  great  zeal  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  this  expedition.  The  King  confided  much 
to  him ;  and  by  honouring  him,  he  desired  to  testify 
to  the  Huguenots  that  if  he  attacked  the  Due  de 
Bouillon,  it  was  not  against  their  religion,  but  against 
rebellion,  that  he  was  angry.  For  this  purpose  he 
made  the  land  of  Sully  into  a  duchy  and  peerage ; 
and,  therefore,  we  shall  henceforward  call  Rosny 
Due  de  Sully.  Sully's  opinion  was  that  the  King 
should  pursue  the  Due  de  Bouillon  to  the    utmost. 


HENRI  IV.  329 

Villeroy  and  the  rest  of  the  Council  were  of  a  con- 
trary judgment;  they  did  not  think  it  advisable  to 
hazard  the  siege  of  Sedan,  because  the  length  of  that 
undertaking  might  possibly  revive  divers  factions  in 
other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  give  time  to  the 
Spaniards  to  assault  the  frontiers  of  Picardy,  to  the 
discontented  Duke  of  Savoy  to  cast  himself  with  the 
forces  of  the  Milanese  on  disarmed  Provence,  and  to 
the  Huguenots  and  Protestants  of  Germany  to  come 
to  the  assistance  of  their  friends. 

The  King  clearly  foresaw  all  these  inconveniences ; 
and,  therefore,  having  advanced  to  Donchery  during 
the  absence  of  Sully,  who  had  gone  to  provide  artil- 
lery, he  treated  with  the  Due  de  Bouillon  and  re- 
ceived him  into  his  favour,  on  condition  that  he 
should  humble  himself  before  his  Majesty,  receive  him 
into  the  city  of  Sedan,  and  deliver  up  tlie  castle  to 
him  to  keep  it  with  what  garrison  he  should  think  fit, 
for  four  years. 

These  were  the  public  conditions;  but  by  secret 
articles  the  King  promised  the  Duke  to  stay  but  five 
days  in  Sedan,  and  to  put  only  fifty  men  in  the  castle, 
who  should  immediately  depart  upon  humble  suppli- 
cation made  by  the  Duke.  All  these  things  were 
faithfully  executed,  and  without  the  least  distrust 
either  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  The  Duke  came 
to  meet  the  King  at  Donchery,  where  he  besought  his 
pardon.     The  King  received  him  as  if  he  had  never 


330  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

done  any  wrong,  and  five  or  six  days  after  entered 
into  Sedan,  where  he  stayed  only  three  days,  and  then 
returned  to  Paris.  The  Duke  accompanied  him  as 
far  as  Mousson ;  but  some  days  after,  when  he  under- 
stood that  the  Parliament  had  confirmed  his  pardon, 
in  which  were  likewise  comprehended  his  friends  who 
had  been  condemned  by  default  at  Limoges,  he  came 
to  the  Court,  where  he  received  more  honours  and 
kindnesses  than  ever.  This  was  the  custom  of  that 
great  King.  He  had  a  heart  like  a  lion's  against  the 
proud  and  against  rebels ;  but  he  was  pleased  to  re- 
lieve with  an  unparalleled  goodness  those  he  had 
overcome,  when  by  their  submission  they  rendered 
themselves  worthy  to  receive  his  grace.  And  the 
Due  de  Bouillon,  who  perfectly  knew  his  nature  (for 
they  had  long  lived  and  fought  together),  was  careful 
to  comport  himself  with  all  that  prudence  and  com- 
pliancy which  an  intelligent  man,  such  as  he  was, 
could  be  capable  of. 

Notwithstanding  this  great  generosity  and  good- 
ness of  the  King,  his  kingdom  was  no  less  troubled 
with  incredible  treacheries  and  conspiracies.  Such 
were  the  treason  of  L'Oste,  the  attempt  on  the  city  of 
Marseilles  by  Mdr argues,  and  another  on  Narbonne 
and  Leucate  by  the  Luquisses. 

L'Oste  was  secretary  to  Villeroy,  and  his  godson. 
It  was  his  duty  to  decipher  the  despatches.  This 
unfortunate  man  revealed  all  the  secrets  of  the  King's 


HENRI  IV.  331 

affairs  to  some  members  of  the  Council  of  Spain,  who 
had  bribed  him  with  a  pension  of  twelve  hundred 
crowns,  which  they  promised  him  whilst  he  was  in 
that  country  with  the  ambassador,  Rochepot.  On  his 
treachery  being  discovered  he  fled,  and  as  he  was 
pursued  by  the  provosts  and  the  marshals  he  drowned 
himself  in  the  river  Marne,  near  the  ferry  of  Fay.  It 
may  easily  be  judged  that  Villeroy,  whose  fidelity  by 
this  means  remained  exposed  to  the  King's  reasonable 
suspicions  and  to  the  calumnies  of  his  enemies,  was 
sensibly  troubled.  He  would  undoubtedly  have  had 
some  difficulty  in  clearing  himself  of  this  business, 
however  innocent  he  might  have  been,  if  the  King, 
who  saw  him  in  such  great  affliction,  had  not  had  the 
goodness  to  visit  him  himself,  and  by  that  honour 
brought  him  the  comfort  of  justifying  him  in  the  face 
of  all  calumnies  which  the  envious  might  sow  against 
him. 

M^rargues  was  a  gentleman  from  Provence,  of  a 
very  good  family,  who,  having  assurance  that  he 
should  the  following  year  be  sheriff  ^  of  Marseilles, 
had  promised  to  deliver  that  city  to  the  Spaniards 
during  his  shrievalty.  He  was  so  imprudent  and  so 
foolish  as  to  reveal  his  design  to  a  slave  in  the  galleys 
at  Marseilles,  who  gave  information  of  it  to  the  Court, 
thinking  by  this  means  to  gain  his  liberty. 

>  Viguier:  a  magistrate  under  the  old  monarcby  in  the  south  of 
France,  subordinate  to  the  "  seneschaL" 


332  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Upon  this  information  M^rargues,  who  was  then 
at  Paris,  was  watched  so  closely  that  they  found  him 
conferring  with  the  secretary  of  the  ambassador  of 
Spain,  and  almost  all  they  said  was  heard.  They 
searched  him,  and  found  in  the  fold  of  his  garter  a 
note  containing  the  plan  of  the  conspiracy.  He  was 
arrested,  and  beheaded  by  sentence  of  the  Parliament 
of  Paris  on  the  19th  of  December.  His  body  was 
quartered,  and  his  quarters  fixed  before  the  city 
gates ;  his  head  was  carried  to  Marseilles,  to  be  stuck 
on  a  pike  upon  a  tower  of  one  of  the  principal  gates. 
The  secretary  of  the  ambassador  was  arrested  as  well 
as  he,  and  would  have  been  in  great  danger  if  the 
King  had  been  as  furious  as  those  who  counselled 
him,  who  desired  a  rupture  with  Spain. 

This  affair  gave  rise  to  considerable  discussion 
amongst  politicians  concerning  the  rights  of  ambas- 
sadors and  their  people ;  but  Henri  the  Great  himself 
decided  the  question  thus :  "  Ambassadors,"  said  he, 
"  are  sacred  by  the  right  of  nations.  They  abuse  this 
right  when  they  contrive  any  treason  against  the 
State  or  against  the  prince  to  whom  their  master  has 
sent  them,  and  consequently  this  right  ought  not  to 
secure  them  from  being  sought  out  and  punished. 
Moreover,  it  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  they  are 
either  ambassadors  or  that  they  represent  the  sover- 
eign who  sends  them  when  they  commit  those  treach- 
eries which  their  masters  would  neither  commit  nor 


HENRI   IV.  333 

avow.  However,  there  is  more  generosity  in  not 
behaving  on  this  point  witli  extreme  severity,  but  in 
reserving  the  right  to  chastise  them  without  it."  And 
to  this  purpose,  being  well  read  in  history,  he  alleged 
that  example  of  the  Roman  Senate,  who,  having  dis- 
covered that  the  ambassadors  of  the  Allobroges  were 
concerned  in  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline,  contented 
themselves  with  commanding  them  to  depart  the 
city.  This  was  his  opinion,  and  as  he  always  followed 
the  most  generous  maxims,  he  forbade  that  any  ac- 
tion should  be  taken  against  the  secretary,  whom  the 
judges  were  about  to  question. 

In  the  meantime  the  ambassador,  thinking  to  cloak 
this  perfidy  by  his  exclamations,  came  to  complain  to 
the  King  that  the  rights  of  nations  were  being  vio- 
lated, and  in  them  the  dignity  of  ambassadors;  and 
that  the  King  his  master  would  resent  it  as  became  a 
great  prince  when  offended.  The  King,  answering 
him  with  a  wise  coldness,  represented  unto  him  what 
his  secretary  had  conspired  with  M^rargues.  The 
ambassador,  not  willing  either  to  own  the  man  or 
approve  his  action,  turned  the  business  another  way, 
and  complained  that  the  King  had  made  the  first 
breach  of  the  Peace  of  Vervins  by  assisting  the  Hol- 
landers with  men  and  money.  The  King  replied  that, 
as  regarded  the  men,  they  did  not  go  by  his  orders, 
and  that  there  were  Frenchmen  in  the  service  of  the 
Archduke  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  Hollanders ;  but 


334  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

that  it  was  in  his  power  to  do  what  he  pleased  with 
his  money,  and  to  lend  it  or  give  it  without  any  one 
having  a  right  to  say  anything.  The  ambassador  was 
very  angry,  and  some  high  words  passed  on  one  side 
and  the  other.  Finally  the  King  returned  him  his 
secretary,  as  he  had  resolved  to  do  in  the  first  in- 
stance. 

The  Luquisses  were  two  brothers,  Genoese  by  ex- 
traction, who  had  made  an  agreement  with  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Perpignan  to  deliver  to  him  Narbonne  and 
Lucate.  It  is  certain  that  it  was  not  in  their  power 
to  execute  this  design,  and  that  there  was  more  ill-will 
in  them  than  danger  of  its  success.  Nevertheless, 
they  were  taken  and  carried  to  Toulouse,  where  the 
Parliament  sent  both  to  the  gibbet. 

It  seemed  that  not  only  the  malice  of  men,  but 
folly  itself  now  conspired  against  France ;  for  the 
same  day  that  M^rargues  was  executed,  an  unhappy 
fool  made  an  attempt  on  the  sacred  person  of  the 
King,  throwing  himself  upon  him  with  a  dagger  in 
his  hand  as  he  passed  on  horseback  over  the  Pont- 
Neuf,  returning  from  hunting.  The  attendants  of 
the  King,  running  up,  made  him  let  go  his  hold,  and 
would  have  killed  him  on  the  spot  if  it  had  not  been 
forbidden  by  the  King,  who  caused  him  to  be  taken 
prisoner  to  Fort  Eveque.  He  was  called  Jean  de 
rile,  and  was  a  native  of  Vineux,  near  Senlis.  He 
was  examined  by  the  President  Jeannin,  who  could 


HENRI   IV.  335 

get  no  reasonable  answer  from  him,  for  he  was  indeed 
quite  out  of  his  senses.  He  believed  himself  king  of 
all  the  world,  and  said  that  Henri  IV.  having  usurped 
and  taken  France  from  him,  he  wished  to  chastise 
him  for  his  temerity.  Upon  which  the  King,  judging 
that  he  was  sufficiently  punished  by  his  folly,  com- 
manded that  he  should  only  be  kept  in  prison,  where 
he  died  not  long  after. 

Those  who  desired  war  did  not  fail  to  take  advan- 
tage of  all  these  conspiracies  and  undertakings  of  the 
Spaniards  to  incense  the  King's  spirit.  They  repre- 
sented to  him  that  he  ought  not  to  wait  for  others 
from  his  perpetual  enemies ;  that  having  used  all  their 
endeavours  to  hinder  him  from  coming  to  his  crown, 
they  continued  daily  to  attempt  something  against 
his  repose  and  life ;  that  their  ambushes  were  more 
to  be  feared  in  peace  than  in  war ;  that  it  were  better 
to  break  with  them,  because  they  would  have  less 
means  to  hurt  him,  being  no  longer  within  his  realm ; 
that  he  had  more  to  gain  in  attacking  them  by  open 
force  than  in  counterplotting  all  their  treacherous  de- 
vices, which  they  concealed  under  the  cloak  of  peace 
and  friendship.  They  moreover  represented  to  him 
the  bad  state  of  the  Spanish  finances  ;  that  having 
expended  all  their  treasure  in  the  wars  in  the  Low 
Countries,  they  were  obliged  to  have  recourse  to 
extraordinary  means  to  replenish  it.  But  above  all, 
they  did  not  fail  to  lay  before  him  the  great  and  ad- 


336  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

rantageous  qualities  that  he  had  over  Philip  III.,  his 
adversary,  in  order  that  he  might  be  the  easier  induced 
to  attack  a  man  whom  they  taught  him  to  despise  and 
consider  weaker. 

I  may  say,  in  connection  with  King  Philip  III., 
that,  although  his  mind  was  very  acute,  and  his  father, 
Philip  II.,  had  given  him  all  knowledge  necessary  to 
govern,  nevertheless,  from  a  certain  timidity  and  dis- 
trust of  himself,  too  common  in  many  great  men, 
shunning  trouble  and  hardships,  he  had  allowed  the 
government  to  devolve  almost  entirely  on  the  Marquis 
of  Denia,  whom  he  made  Duke  of  Lerma.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  tell  how  this  man  rendered  himself 
odious,  and  how  the  other  was  little  esteemed  so  long 
as  this  lasted ;  but  God  finally  opened  the  eyes  of  this 
young  Prince.  He  broke  his  chains  ;  and  he  who 
had  become,  as  it  were,  his  master,  thought  there  was 
no  better  way  of  diverting  all  the  calamities  which 
might  happen  than  by  becoming  a  churchman  and  a 
cardinal. 

We  may  in  passing  make  some  reflections  on  the 
pitiful  state  to  which  a  sovereign  reduces  himself, 
who,  for  not  maintaining  his  dignity  as  he  ought, 
necessarily  becomes  an  object  of  disdain  and  aversion 
to  his  subjects.  Without  doubt  the  greatest  misfor- 
tune that  can  befall  him  is  to  be  regarded  as  inferior 
and  subject  to  another ;  to  have  his  ears  continually 
filled  with  the  voice  of  his  people,  crying  on  all  sides, 


HENRI  IV.  337 

*'  Govern  us ! "  and  to  permit  himself  to  be  guided  by 
five  or  six  wicked  flatterers,  who  make  him  believe 
that  he  is  master,  though  he  exercises  not  one  func- 
tion, rather  than  by  the  truth  or  judgment  of  his 
whole  kingdom.  For  if  he  desire  to  know  whether 
he  be  truly  sovereign  or  no,  he  need  only  regard  him- 
self without  flattery.  If  it  be  he  that  gives  commands 
on  his  own  initiative  ;  if  he  himself  chooses  the  per- 
sons ;  if  the  officers  about  him  are  of  his  own  making ; 
if  he  has  ever  said,  "  I  will  have  it  so,"  in  any  affair 
of  importance ;  if  he  see  himself  always  followed  and 
accompanied  by  grandees ;  if  those  who  have  business, 
who  seek  employments,  and  who  have  need  of  his  fa- 
vour, are  in  his  antechamber ;  and,  finally,  if  none  of 
his  realm  have  more  respect  paid  to  them,  or  are 
sought  more  assiduously,  then  he  shall  clearly  know 
who  it  is  that  reigns.  But  it  is  not  enough  for  him 
to  know  who  it  is.  He  must,  after  the  example  of 
Philip  III.,  of  whom  we  were  just  now  speaking,  en- 
deavour to  put  himself  in  possession  of  his  authority. 
It  is  in  this  that  the  courage  of  a  prince  principally 
consists ;  for  in  what  can  he  better  make  known  his 
resolution  and  valour  than  in  taking  upon  himself 
that  degree  and  power  which  God  has  given  him? 
Is  there  a  truer  point  of  honour  for  a  king  than  to 
maintain  in  his  person  the  rights  of  his  royalty? 
"Without  dissembling,  it  shows  more  weakness  and 
shame  for  a  sovereign  to  submit  to  him  who  ought  to 


338  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

be  dependent  on  his  will  than  to  flee  in  the  day  of 
battle  before  his  enemies ;  for  the  bravest  sometimes 
run  away,  and  the  courage  of  a  king  consists  much 
less  in  fighting  with  his  hands  than  in  governing  with 
his  head.  What  use  is  it  for  him  to  overcome  his 
enemies  if  he  see  himself  beneath  his  own  subject, 
who,  under  pretext  of  serving  him,  reduces  him  and 
his  kingdom  into  fetters,  and  who  dares  invest  him- 
self with  all  the  glory  and  all  the  advantage  of  com- 
mand, making  him  believe  that  it  is  to  ease  him  of 
the  burden  ? 

Our  Henri  was  not  of  this  temper.  His  goodness 
was  extreme,  but  it  was  neither  sluggish  nor  timid ; 
his  knowledge  and  understanding  were  not  useless, 
but  always  laborious  and  active.  Nothing  was  above 
him  but  God  himself ;  nothing  on  any  side  of  him  but 
justice  and  clemency,  his  two  faithful  counsellors. 
The  most  hardy  of  his  ministers  trembled  when 
he  but  bent  his  brow ;  all  familiarities  immediately 
ceased,  and  none  dared  to  speak  when  he  was  pleased 
to  take  the  tone  of  master. 

Now  this  great  King  thus  preserving  the  splendour 
of  his  majesty,  we  cannot  wonder  if  he  were  esteemed 
above  Philip  HI.,  who  at  that  time  suffered  himself 
to  be  absolutely  governed.  And  therefore,  because 
they  knew  he  understood  his  weakness,  they  believed 
that  he  would  be  more  easily  persuaded  to  make  war 
against  him.     Indeed  he  was  sufiiciently  resolved  to 


HENRI  IV.  339 

that;  and  after  so  many  injuries  as  he  had  received 
from  the  Spaniard,  his  resentment  had  no  great  need 
of  a  spm*.  However,  before  he  would  undertake  so 
arduous  a  task,  he  wished  to  make  all  his  arrange- 
ments so  exactly,  gather  together  so  much  money, 
artillery,  and  ammunition,  fortify  so  well  his  frontiers, 
keep  such  good  order  within  his  kingdom,  assure  him- 
self of  so  many  friends  and  allies,  raise  such  powerful 
armies,  and  finally,  make  his  party  so  strong,  tliat  the 
success  should  not  at  all  be  doubtful,  and  that  when 
he  encountered  that  ambitious  power,  he  might  be 
assured  of  overthrowing  it;  and  therefore  he  judged 
it  not  to  the  purpose  too  much  to  hasten. 

In  the  meantime  he  neglected  not  other  means  to 
acquire  reputation,  thinking  it  not  less  glorious  to 
blazon  forth  his  name  by  the  repute  of  his  wisdom 
in  counsels  than  by  the  power  of  his  arms.  By  the 
latter  he  had  been  victorious  over  the  rebels  and  the 
Spaniards ;  by  the  former,  he  rendered  himself  arbi- 
trator of  the  great  differences  of  Christendom,  and 
acquired  a  superiority  so  much  more  noble,  because 
given  him  without  constraint. 

Pope  Clement  YIII.  having  died  about  the  end  of 
the  year  1605,  Henri  wished  to  employ  his  influence 
in  causing  the  choice  of  the  cardinals  to  fall  on  one  of 
his  friends.  The  Cardinal  de  Joyeuse,  his  ambassa- 
dor, and  his  other  agents  laboured  so  well  that  they 
elected  Alessandro  de'  Medici,  Cardinal   of  Florence. 


340  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

He  took  the  name  of  Leo  XI.,  but  he  died  at  the  end 
of  seventeen  days ;  so  the  business  had  to  be  gone 
through  again.  The  King  did  not  wish  that  they 
should  take  pains  in  the  choice  of  another  of  his 
friends,  and  declared  that  France  took  no  other  in- 
terest than  that  an  honest  man  should  be  chosen. 
The  conclave  in  the  end  chose  Cardinal  Borghese, 
who  was  named  Paul  V. 

In  the  first  years  of  his  papacy  a  great  difference 
which  was  begun  under  his  predecessors  was  rekin- 
dled, which  would  have  set  on  fire  all  Italy,  and 
possibly  all  Christendom,  if  our  Henri  had  not  taken 
care  to  extinguish  it. 

The  Seigniory  of  Venice  had  formerly  made  an 
ordinance  or  decree  which  prohibited  the  monks  from 
purchasing  lands  in  their  dominions  above  the  value 
of  twenty  thousand  ducats,  and  enjoining  every  one 
who  had  purchased  above  that  value  to  remit  it  to  the 
Seigniory,  who  would  reimburse  them  the  purchase- 
money  and  the  improvements  they  had  made  on  the 
property.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of  this  ancient 
decree,  they  made  another,  which  forbade  the  founding 
or  building  of  new  churches,  convents,  and  monas- 
teries without  express  permission  of  the  Seigniory, 
under  penalty  of  banishment,  and  confiscation  of  such 
foundations  and  buildings. 

It  was,  indeed,  part  of  the  function  and  charge  of 
bishops  to  prevent  this  multiplication  of  convents ;  but 


HENRI  IV.  341 

either  through  negligence  or  through  being  too  easily 
persuaded,  they  gave  permission  to  all  that  asked ;  so 
much  so  that  the  commonwealth,  instead  of  the 
prelates,  found  themselves  obliged  to  take  notice  of 
it;  otherwise  it  would  soon  have  happened  that  all 
their  cities  would  have  been  nothing  else  but  convents 
and  churches,  and  all  their  revenues,  which  ought  to 
bear  the  charge  of  the  State  and  serve  for  the  support 
of  married  people,  who  furnish  it  with  soldiers,  mer- 
chants, and  labourers,  would  have  been  expended  only 
in  the  maintenance  of  nuns  and  friars. 

The  Seigniory  therefore  made  another  decree,  which 
prohibited  ecclesiastics  from  purchasing  any  real 
property,  except  by  permission  of  that  body.  At  the 
same  time  it  happened  that  an  abbot  and  a  canon, 
being  accused  of  horrible  crimes  committed  in  the 
territories  of  the  Seigniory,  were  imprisoned  upon 
secular  authority,  which  was  considered  very  strange 
on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains,  where  the  eccle- 
siastics are  not  at  all  subject  to  secular  justice. 

Now  Paul  Y.,  on  coming  to  the  pontifical  chair, 
was  not  able  to  overlook,  he  said,  all  these  attacks 
of  the  secular  power  on  the  ecclesiastical,  and  des- 
patched at  the  same  time  two  briefs  ^  to  his  nuncio 
at  Venice,  one  containing  the  revocation  of  the 
decrees  made  by  the  Seigniory  with  regard  to  the 
purchasing  of  temporal  estates,  and  the  other  com- 

1  Pastoral  letters. 


342  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

manding  the  restitution  of  the  abbot  and  the  canon 
to  the  chapter  of  the  church.  The  nuncio  announced 
this  to  the  Seigniory,  who  answered  sharply  that  their 
authority  came  from  themselves ;  that  no  person  but 
they  had  to  do  with  it ;  and  that  they  would  know 
how  to  maintain  it  against  any  who  attempted  to 
oppose  it.  Both  sides  employed  the  best  scholars  of 
the  time  to  defend  their  rights  and  confute  the  argu- 
ments of  their  adversaries.  A  very  large  number  of 
manifestoes  and  treatises  were  written,  full  of  legal 
arguments,  passages  of  Holy  Scripture,  authorities  of 
fathers  and  councils,  and  parallels  drawn  from  history. 

In  the  meantime  the  Pope,  extremely  offended  at 
this  answer,  thundered  out  an  excommunication 
against  the  Doge  and  the  Seigniory,  if  within  twenty- 
four  days  they  did  not  revoke  their  decrees  and  con- 
sign the  two  prisoners  to  the  hands  of  the  nuncio. 
The  Seigniory  was  not  at  all  moved  by  this,  but 
boldly  declared  the  sentence  of  excommunication  null 
and  out  of  rule ;  nor  was  there  any  ecclesiastic  in 
their  whole  territories  who  attempted  to  publish  it,  or 
dared  to  observe  the  interdict  or  stop  divine  ser^dce. 
The  Capuchins  and  the  Jesuits,  however,  resolved  to 
depart,  and  asked  permission  of  the  Seigniory.  They 
granted  it  to  the  Capuchins,  with  liberty  to  retm-n 
when  they  pleased ;  but  the  Jesuits  were  prohibited 
from  ever  reentering  their  dominions. 

While  the  quarrel  between  these  two  powers  was 


HENRI   IV.  34S 

becoming  yery  grave,  the  Spaniards  were  looking  out 
with  a  sharp  eye  to  make  their  profit  out  of  these  divi- 
sions, and  secretly  fomented  the  strife  while  pretend- 
ing to  be  desirous  of  healing  it.  On  the  one  side  they 
encouraged  the  Venetians,  and  emboldened  them  to 
maintain  their  rights ;  and  on  the  other  they  com- 
manded their  governors  of  Naples  and  Milan  to  serve 
the  Holy  Father  with  all  their  powers.  Henri  the 
Great,  more  sincere  and  more  disinterested,  embraced 
this  opportimity  to  establish  his  power  in  Italy  in  a 
more  fair  and  just  manner.  He  assured  the  Pope, 
that,  as  the  eldest  son  of  the  Church,  he  would  always 
sustain  its  interests,  and  that  in  case  of  rupture  he 
would  go  in  person  to  its  help  with  an  army  of  forty 
thousand  men ;  but  he  entreated  him  that,  before  it 
came  to  this,  he  would  grant  that  he  might  use  his 
best  endeavours  to  settle  matters  peaceably. 

He  answered  likewise  to  the  ambassador  of  Venice, 
who  asked  for  his  assistance,  that  he  owed  it  to  the 
Holy  Father  before  all  others ;  and  therefore  he  ex- 
horted the  Seigniory  to  permit  him  to  mediate  in  the 
affair,  which  they  might  do  without  wounding  their 
honour  or  rights. 

Both  parties  having  accepted  his  mediation,  he 
despatched  Cardinal  de  Joyeuse  into  Italy,  who  man- 
aged this  negotiation  with  so  much  address  that 
in  the  end  he  effected  a  reconciliation.  The  treaty 
contained    four  principal   articles:  1.   That  the   Sei- 


344  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

gniory  should  consign  the  two  prisoners  in  the  hands 
of  the  ambassador  of  France,  to  remit  them  to  his 
Holiness.  2.  That  they  should  revoke  the  manifesto 
and  declaration  they  had  made  against  the  apostolic 
censors.  3.  That  they  should  restore  to  all  ecclesi- 
astics their  property.  4.  That  the  Pope  should  give 
them  absolution,  and  that  in  requital  they  should 
send  to  thank  him  by  a  noble  embassy,  and  assure 
him  of  their  filial  obedience. 

On  the  morrow  the  Cardinal  de  Joyeuse,  coming  to 
the  place  assigned  by  the  Seigniory,  the  doors  being 
shut,  in  the  presence  of  the  Doge  and  twenty-five 
senators,  and  of  the  ambassador  of  France,  revoked 
the  excommunication,  and  gave  absolution  to  the 
Seigniory.  All  this  was  effected  without  the  slight- 
est intervention  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards,  though 
they  endeavoured  to  share  in  it.  Thus  both  parties 
had  some  sort  of  satisfaction  by  the  good  offices  of 
Henri  the  Great. 

The  business  of  the  Jesuits,  however,  for  some 
months  retarded  the  treaty.  It  came  very  near 
breaking  it  off  altogether,  because  the  Pope,  con- 
sidering that  they  were  driven  away  for  his  sake, 
firmly  resolved  that  the  Seigniory  should  reestablish 
them  in  their  property,  and  the  Seigniory  were 
equally  obstinate,  preferring  rather  to  hazard  all 
than  to  consent  to  it.  At  last  the  Pope,  persuaded 
by  the  eloquence  of  Cardinal  du  Perron,  who  was  then 


I 


HENRI   IV.  345 

at  Eome,  thought  it  better  to  waive  this  point  than 
hazard  the  outbreak  of  a  war  throughout  Christen- 
dom ;  and  the  Jesuits  therefore  remained  banished 
from  the  lands  of  the  Seigniory.  Alexander  VII., 
by  his  intercession,  afterwards  caused  them  to  be 
reestablished. 

If  the  accommodation  of  the  differences  between 
the  Pope  and  the  Venetians  added  much  to  the 
renown  and  reputation  of  our  Henri,  reviving  the 
credit  of  France  beyond  the  mountains,  where  it 
seemed  dead,  and  depressing  by  as  much  that  of 
the  Spaniards,  which  before  seemed  paramount,  the 
treaty  which  he  managed  between  the  King  of  Spain 
and  the  States  or  United  Provinces  purchased  him 
no  less  fame  among  the  Protestants  and  the  people 
of  the  North.     I  will  briefly  relate  the  circumstances. 

The  United  Provinces,  commonly  called  Holland, 
from  the  name  of  the  largest  of  the  seven  provinces 
which  composed  this  body,  had  some  reason  to  com- 
plain that  the  King  had  made  the  treaty  at  Vervins 
without  their  consent,  and  that  he  had  bound  himself 
not  to  assist  them,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  He 
had,  however,  kept  them  supplied  with  money,  and 
also  had  permitted  a  large"  number  of  volunteers, 
including  many  nobles,  to  enlist  themselves  in  their 
service  to  such  an  extent  that  there  were  many 
regiments  composed  entirely  of  Frenchmen.  It  was 
not  therefore  without  apparent  reason  that  the  Span- 


346  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

iards  cried  out  that  he  had  clearly  infringed  the 
Treaty  of  Vervins ;  but  these  reproaches  were  not 
just,  for  they  had  broken  it  beforehand  by  a  hundred 
attempts,  of  which  we  have  mentioned  some. 

In  the  meantime  the  King,  who  was  very  careful 
of  his  money,  was  weary  of  furnishing  the  United 
Provinces  with  so  much,  and  earnestly  desired  to  see 
them  in  a  position  in  which  they  would  not  put  him 
to  so  much  expense.  There  was  only  one  way  to 
effect  this,  and  that  was  by  securing  them  peace  with 
the  Spaniards.  He  therefore  resolved  to  work  for 
this  end,  and  chose  the  President  Jeannin,  a  man  of 
great  good  sense,  to  manage  this  negotiation. 

The  two  parties  at  first  consented  to  a  truce  of 
eight  months,  during  which  the  Estates  of  the  United 
Provinces,  in  order  that  they  might  treat  with  more 
reputation  and  security,  prayed  the  King  to  grant 
them  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance.  This,  of 
which  the  following  are  the  principal  articles,  he 
willingly  granted  them. 

He  promised  faithfully  to  assist  and  aid  them  by 
all  means  in  his  power  to  obtain  from  the  King  of 
Spain  a  good  and  assured  peace.  If  it  pleased  God 
that  they  should  obtain  it  he  would  cause  it  to  be 
faithfully  observed,  and  would  defend  them  against 
all  who  should  dare  to  infringe  it ;  and  to  this  end 
he  would  maintain  in  their  service  ten  thousand  foot 
at  his  own  expense,  so  long  as  they  should  have  need 


HENRI  IV.  347 

of  them.  Reciprocally  the  States  agreed  that  if  he 
were  assaulted  in  his  kingdom  they  would  assist  him 
with  five  thousand  foot  at  their  own  expense ;  and 
they  would  leave  it  to  the  King's  choice  to  take  this 
assistance  in  soldiers,  or  in  ships  fitted  and  furnished 
at  all  points  to  fight  at  sea. 

The  Spaniards  were  extremely  alarmed  at  this 
alliance.  Don  Pedro  de  Toledo,  one  of  the  greatest 
noblemen  of  Spain,  passing  through  France  to  go  to 
the  Low  Countries,  made  great  complaints  to  the 
King;  but  many  imagined  that  all  the  noise  he 
made  tended  only  to  oblige  him  to  treat  of  peace 
with  the  Hollanders,  for  Spain  was  exhausted  with 
a  war  so  long,  so  tiresome,  and  so  bloody,  with  such 
great  expense  and  so  little  progress. 

Don  Pedro,  as  is  characteristic  of  the  true  Spanish 
nobility,  was  of  an  austere  and  grave  countenance, 
high  and  magnificent  in  his  words  when  it  was  a  ques- 
tion of  the  honour  and  glory  of  his  nation  and  the 
power  of  his  King,  but  otherwise  courteous  and  civil, 
submissive  and  respectful  where  he  should  be  so,  gal- 
lant, witty,  and  clever.  We  must  not  omit  to  men- 
tion several  interesting  incidents  which  took  place 
during  his  visit  to  the  King. 

The  King,  believing  that  he  had  brought  him  threats 
of  war,  and  knowing  that  the  Spaniards  had  spread 
abroad  a  report  that  he  was  quite  lame  with  the  gout 
and  unable  to  mount  on  horseback,  wished  to  show 


348  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

him  that  his  health  and  activity  were  not  at  all  dimin- 
ished. He  received  him  in  the  great  gallery  at  Fon- 
tainebleau,  and  made  him  take  twenty  or  thirty  turns 
at  so  great  a  pace  that  he  put  him  out  of  breath,  then 
saying  to  him,  "  You  see  now,  monsieur,  how  well  I 
am!" 

At  this  first  audience  Don  Pedro  brought  his 
beads  in  his  hand.  He  represented  to  the  King  the 
general  interest  that  all  Catholic  princes  had  in  the 
ruin  or  conversion  of  heretics,  and  the  great  wars 
which  his  master  had  waged  for  this  purpose.  After- 
wards changing  his  discourse,  he  told  him  that  the 
Catholic  King  earnestly  desired  to  ally  himself  more 
closely  with  him,  and  to  make  marriages  between 
their  children,  provided  that  the  King  would  renounce 
the  alliance  and  protection  of  the  Low  Countries. 
The  King  frankly  answered  that  his  children  were  of 
as  noble  blood  as  could  be  found ;  that  he  desired  no 
constrained  friendships  nor  conditions ;  that  he  could 
not  abandon  his  friends ;  but  that  those  who  would 
not  be  such  would  repent  of  being  his  enemies. 

Don  Pedro,  upon  this,  exalted  the  greatness  and 
power  of  Spain.  The  King,  without  being  moved, 
let  him  know  that  it  was  like  the  statue  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, composed  of  several  sorts  of  materials,  and 
which  had  feet  of  clay.  Don  Pedro  then  came  to 
reproaches  and  threats.  The  King,  however,  was 
more  than  a  match  for  him,  and  told  him  that  if  the 


HENRI  IV.  349 

King  of  Spain  continued  his  attempts,  he  would  carry 
flames  even  into  the  Escurial,  and  that  if  he  once 
mounted  on  horseback  he  would  soon  be  at  Madrid. 
The  Spaniard  arrogantly  answered  him,  "  King  Pran- 
9ois  was  there,  indeed."  "  Therefore,"  replied  the 
King,  "  I  would  go  there  to  revenge  his  injuries,  those 
of  France,  and  my  own." 

After  some  high  words,  the  King  with  a  calmer 
voice  said  to  him,  "  Monsieur  Ambassador,  you  are  a 
Spaniard  and  I  a  Gascon;  let  us  not  grow  angry." 
They  returned  then  to  the  language  of  sweetness  and 
civility. 

Another  time  the  King,  showing  him  his  buildings 
at  Fontainebleau,  asked  him  what  he  thought  of 
them.  He  replied  that  in  his  opinion  God  was  lodged 
very  narrowly.  There  were  then  but  two  chapels, 
which  were  in  the  court,  and  were  certainly  very 
small.  The  King  could  not  bear  to  have  his  piety 
accused,  and  therefore  answered  him  very  sharply : 
"  You  Spaniards  know  not  how  to  give  God  other 
than  material  temples ;  we  Frenchmen  lodge  God 
not  only  in  stones,  we  lodge  him  in  our  hearts ;  but 
though  he  should  be  lodged  in  yours,  I  fear  it  would 
be  in  stone  still." 

From  Fontainebleau  they  came  to  Paris,  where 
the  King  one  day  showed  him  his  gallery  of  the 
Louvre,  and  asked  his  opinion  of  it.  "  The  Escurial 
is  just  such    another  thing,"  said   Don    Pedro.     '^  I 


350  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

believe  it,"  replied  the  King ;  "  but  has  it  a  Paris 
about  it  like  my  gallery  ?  " 

One  day  Don  Pedro,  seeing  at  the  Louvre  the 
King's  sword  in  the  hands  of  one  of  his  cloak-bearers, 
advanced  to  it,  and,  putting  one  knee  on  the  ground, 
kissed  it,  "  rendering  this  honour,"  he  said,  "  to  the 
most  glorious  sword  in  Christendom !  " 

During  the  eight  months'  truce  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  the  President  Jeannin  incessantly  laboured 
for  a  treaty.  There  were  two  great  difficulties :  one, 
that  the  King  of  Spain  would  not  treat  with  the 
United  Provinces  but  as  with  subjects,  and  they  on 
their  part  wished  to  be  acknowledged  as  free  and 
independent;  the  other,  that  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
whose  power  and  authority  would  be  extremely  weak- 
ened by  the  peace,  opposed  it  by  a  thousand  artifices, 
being  upheld  in  it  by  the  province  of  Zealand,  which 
was  always  anxious  for  war,  and  by  some  cities  of  its 
faction. 

These  two  obstacles  were  in  the  end  surmounted. 
The  Spaniard  yielded  on  the  first,  and  acknowledged 
the  States  as  free  states,  provinces,  and  countries ;  and 
for  the  second,  the  King  spoke  so  sharply  to  the  Prince 
of  Orange  that  he  dared  not  stop  the  course  of  the 
treaty.  It  did  not  end,  however,  in  a  peace,  as  was 
to  be  desired,  but  only  in  a  truce  of  twelve  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  the  commerce  of  both  countries  was 
to  be  free  and  assured. 


HENRI   IV.  351 

The  renown  of  this  negotiation  carried  the  King's 
glory  throughout  all  Europe.  The  Doge  of  Venice 
told  the  French  ambassador  in  the  Senate  that  the 
Seignioiy  had  fresh  cause  to  admire  the  prudent  con- 
duct of  the  King,  who  never  deceived  himself  in  his 
undertaking,  nor  ever  gave  blow  in  vain ;  that  he  was 
the  true  upholder  of  the  repose  and  felicity  of  Chris- 
tendom ;  and  that  nothing  more  could  be  desired  for 
the  happiness  of  his  kingdom  but  that  he  might  reigu 
for  ever,  —  a  eulogy  so  much  the  more  worthy  and 
glorious  because  we  may  say  with  truth  that  Yenice 
has  always  been  the  seat  of  political  wisdom,  and 
that  the  praises  which  come  from  that  Senate  are  as 
so  many  oracles. 

The  friendship  and  protection  of  this  great  King 
was  sought  on  all  sides.  All  was  referred  to  his 
arbitration,  and  all  implored  his  assistance.  And 
as  he  was  equally  powerful  and  wise,  feared  and 
loved,  there  was  none  who  dared  contradict  his  judg- 
ment, or  attack  those  whom  he  protected.  But  he 
was  so  just  that  he  would  not  encroach  upon  the 
rights  of  another,  nor  maintain  the  rebellion  of  sub- 
jects against  their  sovereign,  a  notable  proof  of  which 
he  gave  in  the  affair  of  the  Moors. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Moors  or  Saracens  in- 
vaded Spain  towards  the  year  725.  The  Christians, 
with  the  aid  of  the  French,  had  regained  it  from 
them  little  by  little,  so  that  there  remained  to  them 


352  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

no  more  than  the  kingdom  of  Granada,  which  was 
small  in  extent,  but  very  rich,  and  extremely  pop- 
ulous, because  all  the  remnants  of  that  infidel  nation 
had  retired  into  that  little  space.  Ferdinand,  King  of 
Arragon,  and  Isabella,  Queen  of  Castile,  completed  the 
conquest  of  that  kingdom  in  the  year  1492,  and  so 
put  an  end  to  the  government  of  the  Moors  and  to  the 
Mohammedan  religion  in  Spain,  forcing  the  infidels  to 
accept  baptism,  or  to  retire  into  Africa. 

Now  as  those  who  had  thus  professed  the  Christian 
religion  did  so  only  because  they  were  obliged  to,  they 
for  the  most  part  remained  Mohammedans  in  their 
hearts,  or  Jews  (for  there  were  many  Jews  amongst 
them),  and  secretly  brought  up  their  children  in  their 
unbelief.  To  this,  however,  the  Spaniards  themselves 
largely  contributed,  by  putting  great  distinction  be- 
tween the  new  Christians  and  the  old ;  for  they  would 
not  receive  the  new  ones  either  to  charges  or  holy 
orders,  they  would  not  intermarry  with  them,  and, 
what  is  worse,  levied  blackmail  upon  them,  and  op- 
pressed them  with  excessive  imposts.  So  that  these 
unfortunate  people,  seeing  themselves  thus  trampled 
on,  and  being  too  weak  to  free  themselves  from  their 
yoke,  resolved  to  address  themselves  to  some  foreign 
power,  but  which  should  be  Christian,  because  that  of 
the  King  of  Morocco,  or  the  other  princes  of  Africa, 
would  have  appeared  too  odious.  With  this  object 
they  secretly  had  recourse  by  deputies  to  our  Henri, 


HENRI  IV.  353 

when  he  was  still  only  King  of  Navarre.  Afterwards, 
in  the  year  1595,  when  they  saw  that  he  had  over- 
come the  League,  and  had  got  the  upper  hand  in  his 
affairs,  they  again  implored  his  protection.  He 
listened  favourably  to  their  propositions,  sent  dis- 
guised agents  into  Spain  to  see  the  state  of  their 
affairs,  and  gave  them  hope  that  he  would  assist 
them.  And  he  might  easily  have  done  it,  since  he 
was  at  war  with  the  King  of  Spain,  and  it  is  lawful 
to  make  use  of  all  sorts  of  arms  to  defend  ourselves 
against  our  enemies.  In  the  year  1608  they  again 
returned  and  earnestly  solicited  him  to  accept  their 
propositions  and  offers,  and  to  give  them  an  answer 
from  his  own  mouth.  He  told  them  plainly  that  the 
quality  of  most  Christian  King  which  he  bore  pre- 
vented him  from  undertaking  their  defence  so  long 
as  the  Peace  of  Vervins  lasted ;  but  that  if  the  Span- 
iards should  first  openly  infringe  it,  he  would  have 
just  cause  to  receive  them  under  his  protection. 

Their  deputies  having  lost  all  hopes  in  this  quarter, 
addressed  themselves  to  the  King  of  England,  whom 
they  fomid  still  less  disposed  than  he  to  lend  them 
assistance.  In  the  meantime,  their  plots,  having  taken 
wind  in  the  Court  of  Spain,  caused  both  fear  and  as- 
tonishment, for  there  were  nearly  a  million  of  them, 
and  they  owned  almost  all  the  commerce,  particularly 
in  oils,  which  is  very  great  in  that  country. 

King  Philip  III.  could  see  no  safer  way  to  hinder 


354  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  dangerous  effects  of  their  conspiracies  than  ban 
ishing  them  from  his  territories.  This  he  did  by  an 
edict  of  the  10th  of  January,  1610,  which  was  ex- 
ecuted with  much  cruelty,  inhumanity,  and  treachery  ; 
for  in  transporting  these  unfortunate  people  into  Afri- 
ca, as  they  had  begged,  part  were  drowned  in  the  sea, 
others  despoiled  of  all  they  had,  so  that  those  who 
had  not  yet  departed,  perceiving  the  ill-treatment  of 
their  companions,  fled  towards  France,  one  part  by 
land  to  St.  Jean  de  Luz,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand,  others  in  French  vessels,  which 
brought  them  into  various  ports  of  the  kingdom.  But 
those  who  came  by  land  were  not  much  better  treated 
by  the  French  than  the  others  had  been  by  the  Span- 
iards, for  in  crossing  the  Landes  ^  they  were  almost  all 
robbed  and  stripped,  and  their  wives  and  daughters 
ravished ;  so  that  finding  so  little  safety  in  a  country 
wherein  they  had  believed  they  would  find  refuge, 
they  embarked  by  the  King's  permission  at  the  ports 
of  Languedoc,  and  crossed  over  into  Africa,  where 
they  have  become  implacable  and  most  cruel  enemies 
to  all  Christians.  Some  few  families  remained  in  the 
maritime  cities  of  the  kingdom,  as  in  Bordeaux  and 
Rouen. 

The  King,  instead  of  protecting  these  infidels,  was 
planning  a  gigantic  undertaking  towards  the  Levant, 
for  the  glory  and  extension  of  the  Christian  religion. 

'  Dry,  sandy  ground. 


HENRI   IV.  355 

But  he  would  not  declare  himself  till  he  had  so 
ordered  the  affairs  of  Christendom  that  there  should 
be  no  fear  of  any  trouble  or  division,  and  that  it 
might  make  use  of  all  its  forces  against  so  powerful 
an  enemy  as  the  Grand  Turk.  In  pursuance  of  this 
idea  he  had  sent  three  or  four  gentlemen  into  the 
Levant,  who,  under  the  pretext  of  travelling  and  visit- 
ing the  holy  places,  reconnoitred  the  country,  the  dis- 
position of  the  people,  the  state  of  their  forces,  and 
the  garrisons  and  government  of  the  Turks ;  which 
having  well  considered,  he  estimated  that,  after  having 
settled  the  interests  and  procured  the  union  of  the 
Christian  princes,  he  might  in  three  or  four  years  at 
most  ruin  this  terrible  power,  and  that  with  an  army 
of  thirty-five  thousand  foot  and  twelve  thousand  horse 
only.  Alexander  the  Great  had  no  more  forces  to 
destroy  the  empire  of  the  Persians,  which  without 
doubt  was  greater  and  more  powerful  than  that  of  the 
Turks. 

I  shall  recount  what  his  great  design  for  the  re- 
union of  Christendom  was  when  I  have  briefly  ob- 
served some  important  things  which  happened  in  the 
last  three  or  four  years  of  his  life. 

As  he  laboured  diligently  to  heap  up  money,  the 
sinews  of  war,  so  he  listened  to  all  propositions  made 
for  gaining  it,  the  more  willingly  because  his  design 
was  to  abolish  all  taxes  and  impositions.  ^    This  could 

1  La  gabelle:  excise  duties,  principally  in  salt. 


356  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

not  be  done  without  greatly  diminishing  his  revenue, 
so  it  was  necessary  to  find  some  other  way  of  getting 
funds  in  its  place.  Now  this  he  hoped  to  find  in  the 
demesnes  of  the  Crown,  which  he  desired  entirely  to 
release  and  increase  by  a  number  of  new  rights,  and 
particularly  by  that  of  the  greffes,'^  which  had  been 
quite  withdrawn  for  five  or  six  years,  but  had  brought 
him  in  fifteen  million  francs  a  year.  After  his  death, 
however.  Queen  Marie  de  Medicis  reestablished  it  on 
a  much  larger  scale  than  before. 

As  for  the  impost,  our  Henri  had  a  desire  to  buy 
from  the  owners  all  the  salt-marshes  of  Poitou  and 
Brittany,  and  then  when  he  had  them  in  his  own 
hands,  to  sell  the  salt  upon  the  spot  at  what  price  he 
pleased  to  the  merchant,  who  would  again  retail  it 
through  the  whole  kingdom  without  constraint  or  im- 
position. This  would  have  done  away  with  the  neces- 
sity for  so  many  overseers,  controllers,  factors,  officers, 
and  a  himdred  others,  who,  without  exaggeration, 
amounted  to  nearly  twenty  thousand,  all  fed  and  paid 
at  the  expense  of  the  King  and  public,  and  against 
whom  he  had  often  very  great  complaints.  Thus  the 
poor  country  people  would  not  be  burdened  by  them 
with  the  imposition  on  salt,  forcing  them  willy-nilly 
to  take  yearly  a  certain  quantity ;  and  it  is  certain  the 
people  would  have  had  it  a  great  deal  cheaper,  and  the 

1  The  greffes  was  a  due  to  the  King  of  about  eighty  f  ranci  upon  the 
sale  of  wood  in  several  places. 


HENRI   IV.  357 

King  have  raised  much  more  money,  without  expense, 
trouble,  or  vexation  of  his  subjects. 

Now  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  King,  in 
seeking  means  to  fill  his  coffers,  and  to  find  some 
other  way  than  taxes,  made  some  imposts  and  also 
created  officers ;  but  it  must  also  be  admitted  that  he 
removed  many  things  which  gave  cause  of  complaint. 
And  moreover,  to  pay  his  old  debts  and  find  means 
for  the  rewards  and  pensions  due  to  those  who  had 
served  him  in  his  wars  against  the  League,  he  was 
obliged  to  enact  for  their  benefit  several  things  which 
they  proposed,  so  that  he  loaded  himself  with  envy 
and  reproaches  which  ought  more  justly  to  have  fallen 
upon  those  people  than  upon  himself.  But  those  who 
knew  his  intentions  did  not  blame  him,  for  they  called 
that  prudence  and  wise  economy  which  some  termed 
avarice  and  insatiable  covetousness. 

Moreover,  though  this  Prince  was  desirous  for  the 
comfort  of  his  people  and  the  grandeur  of  his  State, 
nevertheless  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  was  some- 
times deceived  in  the  choice  of  the  means,  which  were 
not  always  so  innocent  as  his  intentions.  Two  in  par- 
ticular are  worth  relating,  of  which  the  one  made 
some  noise  but  never  succeeded,  and  the  other  has 
had  very  dangerous  consequences. 

The  first  was  an  inquisition  of  the  rents  at  the 
H6tel  de  Yille,  by  which  those  who  had  not  come 
by  them  honestly  were  to  be  compelled  to  give  them 


358  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

up.  This  in  itself  was  very  just ;  but  the  greater 
part  of  the  rents  having  changed  owners,  or  been 
parted,  he  must  perforce  trouble  an  infinite  number 
of  families,  so  that  all  Paris  was  roused,  and  the 
tenants  had  recourse  to  their  provost  of  the  mer- 
chants. This  was  Miron,  who  was  likewise  civil 
lieutenant,  a  man  very  zealous  in  the  service  of  the 
King,  as  he  had  shown  on  several  occasions,  but 
withal  a  very  honest  man,  and  one  whom  no  interest 
in  the  world  could  bribe  against  the  people,  whose 
magistrate  he  was.  He  boldly  championed  the  cause 
of  the  people,  and  spoke  in  the  assemblies  of  the 
H8tel  de  Yille,  acted  with  the  superintendent  vigor- 
ously, and  made  remonstrances  to  the  King.  But  in 
these  remonstrances  his  warmth  caused  him  to  make 
some  odious  comparisons,  not  of  the  King's  person, 
but  of  some  of  his  Council. 

The  Louvre  stormed ;  the  people  of  the  Court 
cried  out  that  he  had  blasphemed ;  those  whom  he 
had  mentioned  in  his  speeches,  and  those  who  were 
interested  in  this  inquisition  after  rents,  used  all  their 
endeavours  to  incense  the  King  and  to  persuade  him 
rigorously  to  pmiish  this  boldness.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  people,  hearing  that  their  magistrate  was 
threatened,  unanimously  rose  up  to  protect  him.  The 
burgesses  came  in  troops  about  his  house  to  defend 
it;  but  Miron  entreated  them  to  retire,  and  not  to 
make  him  a  criminal.     He  told  them  that  there  was 


HENRI   IV.  359 

nothing  to  fear ;  that  thej  had  to  do  with  a  king  as 
sweet  and  just  as  he  was  great  and  wise,  and  who 
would  not  let  himself  be  carried  awaj  by  the  per- 
suasions of  evil  coimsellors. 

Upon  this,  those  who  wished  him  ill  employed  all 
their  endeavours  to  persuade  the  King  to  take  him  by 
force,  and  to  assert  his  supreme  authority.  But  he 
wisely  answered  these  people  that  authority  does  not 
always  consist  in  pushing  matters  to  the  utmost 
extremity ;  that  the  time,  the  persons,  and  the  cause 
ought  to  be  regarded;  that  having  been  ten  years 
extinguishing  the  fire  of  civil  war,  he  feared  even  the 
least  sparks ;  that  Paris  had  cost  him  too  much  to 
hazard  the  least  danger  of  losing  it,  which  seemed 
to  him  certain  if  he  followed  their  counsel,  because 
he  should  be  obliged  to  make  terrible  examples,  which 
would  in  a  few  days  deprive  him  of  the  glory  of  his 
clemency  and  the  love  of  his  people,  which  he  prized 
as  much  as,  nay  above,  his  crown ;  that  he  had  on 
a  hundred  other  occasions  proved  the  fidelity  and 
honesty  of  Miron,  who  had  no  ill  intention,  but  with- 
out doubt  believed  himself  obliged  by  the  duty  of 
his  ofi&ce  to  do  what  he  did ;  that  if  some  incon- 
siderate words  had  escaped  him,  he  might  well  pardon 
them  for  his  past  services ;  that  after  all,  if  this  man 
affected  to  be  the  martyr  of  the  people,  he  would  not 
give  him  that  glory  nor  bring  upon  himself  the  name 
of  persecutor  or  tyrant ;  and,  finally,  that  it  was  not 


360  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

on  such  valuable  occasions  that  he  ought  to  prosecute 
a  man,  when  people  desired  his  destruction. 

Thus  this  wise  King  knew  how  prudently  to  dis- 
semble a  little  fault ;  he  did  not  even  want  to  know 
what  had  passed,  for  fear  of  being  obliged  to  strike 
some  blow  of  authority  which  might  possibly  have 
had  dangerous  consequences.  He  received,  therefore, 
very  favourably  the  excuses  and  humble  submission 
of  Miron,  and  afterwards  prohibited  the  inquisitions 
of  rents,  which  had  caused  so  much  trouble. 

The  second  means  of  which  he  availed  himself  to 
raise  money,  and  which  was  of  very  dangerous  con- 
sequence, was  the  paulette^  or  annual  right.  To  un- 
derstand this  properly  we  must  go  back  a  little  in 
history. 

The  offices  of  judicature,  of  police,  and  of  the  rev- 
enues had  formerly  been  exercised  in  France,  under 
the  first  and  second  race  of  our  kings,  by  gentlemen ; 
for  the  nobility  were  obliged  to  study  and  understand 
the  laws  of  the  kingdom.  They  were  chosen  for  the 
maturity  of  their  age  and  judgment ;  they  were  changed 
from  time  to  time,  from  one  seat  to  another ;  and  they 
took  no  fees  from  suitors,  except  a  very  moderate 
salary  which  the  public  paid  them  rather  for  honour 
than  recompense.  Afterwards,  towards  the  end  of  the 
second  race  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  third,  the 
nobility  became  ignorant  and  weak,  and  the  plebeians 
and  burgesses,  having  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  laws, 


HENRI  IV.  361 

raised  themselves  little  by  little  to  these  charges,  both 
judicial  and  financial,  and  began  to  make  them  of 
higher  value,  because  they  drew  all  their  honour  and 
dignity  thence,  not  having  any  other  by  birth,  as  the 
gentlemen  had.  Yet  they  had  not  very  much  to  do, 
for  the  churchmen  possessed  almost  all  the  jurisdic- 
tion, and  had  their  officers  who  administered  justice. 

In  the  meantime  the  Parliament,  which  before  was 
as  the  Council  of  State  of  the  kingdom,  and  an  epitome 
of  the  States  General,  took  upon  themselves  the  deci- 
sion of  differences  between  particular  persons,  whereas 
before  they  only  treated  of  great  affairs  of  policy ; 
therefore  Philippe  le  Bel,  or.,  according  to  some 
others,  his  son,  Louis  X.^  made  it  stationary  at  Paris. 
Now  this  company  of  judges  became  most  illustrious, 
because  the  King  often  took  his  seat  amongst  them, 
the  dukes,  peers,  and  prelates  of  the  realm  formed  a 
part  of  them,  and  the  most  able  people  in  legal  mat- 
ters were  chosen  to  fill  places  there.  They  made 
the  power  of  other  judges-royal  depend  upon  them, 
namely  the  bailiffs  and  seneschals,  who,  though  before 
this  they  had  been  sovereign  judges,  became  now  sub- 
ordinate to  them. 

At  various  times  after,  other  kings  created  many 
other  Parliaments,  but  with  the  sole  intention  of 
causing  justice  to  be  administered  without  any  pecu- 
niary interest,  and  by  it  they  filled  their  coffers  with 
wages  to  pay  these  officers. 


362  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

At  this  time  the  number  of  the  officers  of  justice 
was  very  small,  and  the  order  which  was  observed  to 
fill  the  vacancies  in  Parliament  perfectly  good.  The 
custom  was  to  keep  a  register  of  all  the  able  advocates 
and  lawyers,  and  when  any  office  was  vacant  they 
chose  three,  whose  names  they  carried  to  the  King, 
who  chose  one  of  them.  But  the  favourites  and  the 
courtiers  soon  corrupted  this  order.  They  persuaded 
the  kings  not  to  confine  themselves  to  those  presented, 
but  to  name  one  of  their  o^ti  choosing,  the  object,  of 
course,  being  that  these  favomites  might  extract  some 
present  from  him  who  should  be  made  on  their  recom- 
mendation. And  the  abuse  was  so  great  that  often 
the  offices  were  filled  with  ignorant  and  low  people ; 
and  so  people  of  merit  held  the  position  of  an  advo- 
cate much  more  honourable  than  that  of  a  counsellor. 

The  mischief  daily  increased,  and  the  rich  people 
becoming  extremely  desirous  of  these  posts  for  lucre, 
and  their  wives  out  of  vanity,  those  who  governed 
began  to  make  a  regular  traffic  in  them.  Thus  under 
Louis  XII.,  his  coffers  being  exhausted  by  the  long 
Italian  wars,  the  offices  of  the  revenue  commenced  to 
be  openly  sold.  However,  that  good  King  having 
soon  foreseen  the  dangerous  consequence,  resolved  to 
reimburse  those  who  had  bought  them ;  but  dying 
without  fulfilling  his  good  intention,  Francois  I.,  of 
whom  he  had  well  predicted  that  he  would  spoil  all,  ^ 

1  He  had  often  said,  "  That  fat  boy  will  spoil  all." 


HENRI  IV.  363 

sold  likewise  those  of  judicature.  At  various  times 
afterwards  new  ones  were  created,  with  the  sole  pur- 
pose  of  raising  money. 

Afterwards  Henri  II.,  his  son,  created  the  presi- 
dents, and  Charles  IX,  and  Henri  III.,  heaping  ill 
upon  ill  and  ruin  upon  ruin,  made  a  great  number  of 
other  creations  of  all  sorts,  in  order  to  have  these 
wares  to  sell ;  and,  moreover,  they  sold  offices  when 
they  were  vacant,  either  by  death  or  forfeiture. 

Hitherto  the  evil  had  been  great,  but  not  incurable. 
When  these  offices  became  vacant,  a  part  only  need 
have  been  suppressed,  and  the  rest  filled  with  persons 
of  capacity  and  merit.  Thus  in  twenty  years  this 
ants'  nest  of  officers  might  have  been  reduced  to  a 
very  small  number  of  honest  people. 

But  the  business  was  not  in  this  way  made  known 
to  Henri  the  Great;  they  represented  it  to  him  in 
another  sense.  They  gave  him  to  understand  that 
since  he  drew  no  profit  ffom  vacant  offices,  being 
almost  always  obliged  to  give  them,  he  would  do  well 
to  find  the  means  to  discharge  in  this  way  a  part  of 
the  wages  he  paid  his  officers,  which  he  might  do  by 
granting  them  their  offices  for  their  heirs,  reserving 
a  moderate  sum  of  money  which  they  should  yearly 
pay,  yet  without  forcing  any  one,  so  that  it  should  be 
a  favour  and  not  an  oppression.  This  was  named  the 
annual  right,  otherwise  the  paulette,  from  the  name 
of  the  proposer  Paulet,  who  gave  the  counsel  and  was 


364  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

the  first  farmer.  All  the  oificers  were  only  too  pleased 
to  pay  this  right,  so  as  to  assure  their  offices  to  their 
heirs.  We  need  not  here  tell  the  mischief  and  incon- 
venience which  this  wicked  invention  caused. 

I  will  not  weary  the  reader  with  all  the  ceremonies 
and  rejoicings  made  at  the  birth  and  baptism  of  all 
the  children  of  Henri  the  Great,  nor  at  the  various 
marriages  of  the  princes  and  grandees  of  the  Court, 
amongst  others,  of  the  Prince  de  Conde  and  the  Due 
de  VendQme,  which  were  celebrated  in  July,  1609. 

The  Prince  de  Conde  espoused  Charlotte  Marguerite 
of  Montmorency,  daughter  of  the  Constable,  who  was 
wonderfully  fair  and  had  a  splendid  presence,  which 
the  King  having  noticed,  he  was  more  struck  with  her 
than  he  had  ever  been  with  any  other,  which  shortly 
after  caused  the  retreat  of  the  Prince  de  Conde,  who 
carried  her  into  Flanders,  and  thence  retired  to  Milan. 
The  King  was  extremely  displeased  at  seeing  the  first 
Prince  of  his  blood  cast  himself  into  his  enemies' 
hands. 

The  Due  de  YendSme  espoused  Mademoiselle  de 
Mercoeur,  to  whom  he  had  been  affianced  since  the 
year  1597,  as  we  have  said  before.  The  mother  of 
the  lady,  however,  being  very  proud  and  haughty, 
threw  so  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  this  marriage 
that  it  would  never  have  taken  place  if  the  King  had 
not  concerned  himself  in  it.  This  was  not  the  least 
difficult  thing  in  his  life,  for  he  had  a  high  and  obsti- 


HENRI   IV.  365 

nate  spirit  to  bend ;  however,  lie  employed  only  ways 
of  gentleness  and  persuasion,  acting  in  this  business 
only  as  a  father  who  loved  his  son,  and  not  as  a  king 
who  would  be  obeyed. 

I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  dwell  at  any  very 
great  length  on  the  King's  ordinary  diversions,  these 
being  hunting,  building,  feasts,  play,  and  walking.  I 
will  add  only  that  in  feasts  and  merriments  he  would 
appear  as  good  a  companion  and  as  jovial  as  another ; 
that  he  was  of  a  merry  humour  when  he  had  the  glass 
in  his  hand,  though  very  sober ;  that  his  mirth  and 
witticisms  were  the  best  part  of  the  good  cheer  ;  that 
he  showed  no  less  agility  and  strength  in  combats  at 
the  barrier,  courses  at  the  ring,  and  all  sorts  of  gal- 
lantries than  the  youngest  of  the  nobles ;  that  he  took 
delight  in  balls,  and  sometimes  danced.  Some 
thought  it  wrong  that  so  great  a  prince  should  de- 
scend to  such  follies,  and  that  a  graybeard  should 
take  pleasure  in  acting  the  young  man.  It  may  be 
said  in  his  excuse  that  the  great  cares  of  his  mind 
had  need  of  these  diversions.  But  I  know  not  what 
to  answer  to  those  who  reproach  him  with  too  great  a 
love  for  playing  at  cards  and  dice,  little  befitting 
a  great  king;  albeit  he  was  no  great  gamester,  but 
greedy  of  coin,  fearful  at  great  stakes,  and  petulant 
upon  a  loss.  To  this  I  must  acknowledge  that  it  was 
a  fault  in  this  gi-eat  king,  who  was  no  more  exempt 
from  blots  than  the  sun. 


366  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

It  might  be  wished  for  the  honour  of  his  memory 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  this  alone ;  but  that  contin- 
ual weakness  he  had  for  fail'  women  was  much  more 
blamable  in  a  Christian  prince,  in  a  man  of  his  age, 
who  was  married,  to  whom  God  had  shown  so  many 
graces,  and  who  had  conceived  such  great  designs  in 
his  spirit.  Sometimes  he  had  desires  which  were 
passing,  and  only  fixed  for  a  night ;  but  when  he  met 
with  beauties  which  struck  him  to  the  heart,  he  loved 
even  to  folly,  and  in  such  transports  of  passion  he 
resembled  any  one  rather  than  Henri  the  Great. 

The  fable  says  that  Hercules  took  the  spindle  and 
spun  for  the  love  of  the  fair  Omphale.  Henri  did 
meaner  things  for  his  mistresses.  He  once  disguised 
himself  like  a  countryman,  with  a  wallet  of  straw  on 
his  back,  to  gain  access  to  the  fair  Gabrielle ;  and  it 
has  been  reported  that  the  Marquise  de  Verneuil  had 
more  than  once  seen  him  at  her  feet,  bewailing  her 
disdain  and  insults. 

Twenty  romances  might  be  made  of  the  intrigues  of 
his  loves  with  the  Comtesse  de  Guiche,  when  he  was 
but  King  of  Navarre ;  with  Jacqueline  de  Bueil,  whom 
he  made  Comtesse  de  Moret ;  and  with  Charlotte 
d'Essards,  without  counting  many  other  ladies,  who 
held  it  a  glory  to  have  some  charm  for  so  great  a 
king. 

The  high  esteem  and  affection  which  the  French 
had  for  him  hindered  them  from  being  offended  at 


HENRI   IV.  367 

such  scandals ;  but  the  Queen  his  wife  was  extremely 
annoyed  at  it,  and  it  hourly  caused  controversies  be- 
tween them.  The  King,  who  was  in  fault,  endured  it 
very  patiently,  and  employed  his  confidants,  and 
sometimes  his  confessor,  to  appease  her  spirit,  so  that 
he  continually  had  a  reconciliation  to  make.  These 
contentions  were  so  common  that  the  Court,  which 
at  first  was  astonished  at  them,  in  the  end  took  no 
notice. 

Conjugal  duty  without  doubt  obliged  the  King  not 
to  violate  his  faith  to  his  legitimate  spouse,  or  at  least 
not  to  keep  his  mistresses  in  her  sight.  But  if  in  this 
point  he  ought  to  have  been  a  good  husband,  so  ought 
he  to  have  been  likewise  in  that  of  authority,  and  in 
accustoming  his  wife  to  obey  him  with  more  sub- 
mission, and  not  trouble  him  as  she  did  with  hourly 
complaints,  reproaches,  and  even  threats. 

The  trouble  and  displeasure  of  these  domestic  vexa- 
tions certainly  retarded  the  execution  of  the  great 
design  which  he  had  formed  for  the  good  and  perpet- 
ual repose  of  Christendom,  and  for  the  destruction  of 
the  Ottoman  power. 

It  has  been  variously  spoken  of,  but  I  have  ex- 
tracted the  following  from  the  memoirs  of  the  Due  de 
Sully,  who  certainly  must  know  something  about  it, 
being  as  he  was  so  great  a  confidant  of  this  King. 

The  King,  desiring  to  put  in  execution  those  proj- 
ects he  had  conceived  after  the  Peace  of  Yervins, 


368  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

believed  that  he  ought  first  to  estabhsh  in  his  king- 
dom an  unshaken  peace,  by  reconciling  all  spirits  both 
to  him  and  among  themselves,  and  taking  away  all 
causes  of  bitterness ;  and  that,  moreover,  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  choose  people  capable  and  faith- 
ful, who  might  see  in  what  way  his  revenues  or 
estates  might  be  bettered,  and  to  make  himself  so 
well  acquainted  with  all  his  affairs  that  he  might 
discern  the  good  from  the  ill,  feasible  from  impos- 
sible enterprises,  and  such  as  were  proportionate  to 
his  revenues ;  for  an  expense  made  beyond  them 
draws  the  people's  curses,  and  those  are  generally 
followed  by  God's. 

He  granted  an  edict  to  the  Huguenots,  in  order 
that  the  two  religions  might  live  in  peace.  After- 
wards he  made  a  certain  and  fixed  order  to  pay  his 
debts,  and  those  of  the  kingdom  contracted  by  the 
disorders  of  the  times,  the  profuseness  of  his  ances- 
tors, and  by  the  payments  and  purchases  of  men  and 
places  which  he  was  forced  to  make  during  the  war 
with  the  League.  (Sully  showed  him  an  account  in 
the  year  1607,  by  which  it  appeared  that  he  had  paid 
eighty-seven  million  francs.)  This  reestablished  the 
reputation  and  credit  of  France  among  strangers,  by 
whom  it  was  before  held  in  very  low  estimation. 

That  done,  he  continually  laboured  to  join  in  his 
great  design  all  Christian  princes,  offering  to  give 
them  all  the  fruit  of  his  undertakings  against  the 


HENRI   IV.  369 

infidels,  without  reserving  anything  for  himself ;  for 
he  did  not  wish,  he  said,  for  any  other  kingdom  than 
France. 

He  likewise  endeavoured  on  all  occasions  to  extin- 
guish disorders  and  to  pacify  differences  among  the 
Christian  princes  as  soon  as  they  arose,  and  that 
with  no  other  interest  than  that  of  the  reputation  of  a 
generous,  disinterested,  wise,  and  just  prince. 

He  became  very  friendly  with  all  nations  and  their 
princes  that  seemed  best  disposed  towards  France, 
such  as  the  United  Provinces,  the  Venetians,  the 
Swiss,  and  the  Grisons.  After  having  bound  them 
to  him  by  very  strong  ties,  he  endeavoured  to  negotiate 
with  the  three  great  kingdoms  of  the  North,  England, 
Denmark,  and  Sweden,  to  discuss  and  decide  their 
differences,  and  likewise  to  endeavour  to  reconcile 
them  to  the  Pope,  or  at  least  to  minimise  their  hatred 
and  enmity,  so  that  they  might  live  together.  This 
would  have  been  advantageous  to  the  Pope,  for  they 
would  thereby  have  acknowledged  him  as  the  first 
prince  of  Christendom  as  to  temporal  affairs,  and  in 
that  case  rendered  him  all  respect.  He  endeavoured 
to  do  the  same  thing  among  the  electors,  the  states 
and  cities  of  the  Empire,  being  obliged  particularly, 
he  said,  to  take  care  of  an  empire  which  had  been 
founded  by  his  predecessors.  Afterwards  he  sounded 
the  nobles  of  Bohemia,  Hungary,  Transylvania,  and 
Poland  to  know  if  they  would  concur  with  him  in  the 


370  HISTORIC   COURT  LIEMOIRS. 

design  of  taking  away  and  rooting  up  for  ever  all 
causes  of  trouble  and  division  in  Christendom.  He 
treated  after  that  with  the  Pope,  who  approved  and 
praised  his  plan,  and  desired  to  contribute  on  his  part 
all  that  was  possible. 

He  desired  perfectly  to  unite  all  Christendom,  so 
that  it  should  be  one  body,  which  would  have  been, 
and  rightly  so,  called  the  Christian  commonwealth. 
To  effect  this,  he  had  determined  to  divide  it  into 
fifteen  dominions  or  states,  so  as  to  make  them  of 
equal  power  and  strength,  and  whose  limits  should  be 
so  well  specified  by  the  universal  consent  of  the  whole 
fifteen  that  none  could  pass  beyond  them.  These 
were  to  be  the  Pontificate  or  Papacy,  the  Empire  of 
Germany,  France,  Spain,  Great  Britain,  Hungary,  Bo- 
hemia, Poland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Savoy  or  the  King- 
dom of  Lombardy,  the  Seigniory  of  Yenice,  the  Italian 
Commonwealth,  Belgium  or  the  Low  Countries,  and 
the  Swiss. 

Of  these  states  there  were  to  have  been  five  succes- 
sive: France,  Spain,  Great  Britain,  Sweden,  and  Lom- 
bardy ;  six  elective  :  the  Papacy,  the  Empire,  Hungary, 
Bohemia,  Poland,  and  Denmark ;  four  republics,  two 
of  which  were  to  be  democratic,  to  wit,  the  Belgians 
and  the  Swiss,  and  two  aristocratic  or  seigniories,  that 
of  Venice  and  that  of  the  small  Italian  princes  and 
towns. 

The    Pope  was   to   have,  besides   those   lands   he 


HENRI   IV.  371 

possessed,  the  whole  Kingdom  of  Naples,  and  was 
also  to  receive  the  homage  of  the  Italian  Common- 
wealth and  of  the  island  of  Sicily. 

The  Seigniory  of  Venice  were  to  do  homage  to  the 
Pope  for  Sicily,  by  kissing  his  toe  and  giving  a  golden 
crucifix  every  twenty  years. 

The  Italian  Commonwealth  would  have  been  com- 
posed of  the  States  of  Florence,  Genoa,  Lucca,  Man- 
tua, Parma,  Modena,  Monaco,  and  other  small  places 
which  were  likewise  to  be  held  of  the  holy  seCjby  pay- 
ment of  a  crucifix  of  gold  worth  ten  thousand  francs. 

The  Duke  of  Savoy,  besides  those  lands  he  pos- 
sessed, was  likewise  to  have  Milan,  and  all  was  to  be 
3reated  a  kingdom  by  the  Pope,  under  the  title  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Lombardy,  which  would  have  taken  Mont- 
ferrat  in  exchange  for  Cremona. 

Franche-Comt^,  Alsatia,  Tyrol,  and  the  country  of 
Trent;  with  their  dependencies,  were  to  have  been  in- 
corporated with  the  Helvetia  nor  Swiss  Republic,  and 
simple  homage  was  to  be  done  by  them  to  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany  every  twenty-five  years. 

All  the  seventeen  provinces  of  the  Low  Countries, 
Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic,  were  to  have  been 
established  as  a  free  and  sovereign  republic,  except 
for  a  like  homage  to  the  Empire ;  and  this  dominioa 
was  to  have  been  increased  by  the  duchy  of  Cleves, 
of  Juliers,  of  Berghe,  of  La  Marck,  Ravenstein,  and 
other  small  neighbouring  seigniories. 


372  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

To  the  Kingdom  of  Hungary  were  to  have  been 
joined  the  States  of  Transylvania,  Moldavia,  and 
Wallachia. 

The  Emperor  was  to  renounce  aggrandising  him- 
self by  any  confiscation,  disinheritance,  or  reversion 
of  male  fiofs,  but  was  to  be  able  to  dispose  vacant 
fiefs  in  favour  of  persons  ngt  of  his  kindred,  by  the 
consent  of  the  electors  and  princes  of  the  Empire. 
It  was  likewise  to  have  been  agreed  that  the  Empire 
should  never  upon  any  occasion  whatsoever  be  held 
successively  by  two  princes  of  one  house,  for  fear  of 
its  becoming  hereditary,  as  it  has  been  for  a  long  time 
in  Austria. 

The  Kingdoms  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia  were  to 
have  been  likewise  elective  by  the  voice  of  seven 
electors ;  to  wit  (1)  that  of  the  nobles,  clergy,  and 
cities  of  that  country ;  (2)  of  the  Pope ;  (3)  of  the 
Emperor ;  (4)  of  the  King  of  France ;  (5)  of  the 
King  of  Spain ;  (6)  of  the  King  of  England ;  (7)  of 
the  Kings  of  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Poland,  who 
were  to  count  as  one. 

Besides^  to  regulate  the  differences  which  might 
arise  in  the  confederacy,  and  to  decide  them  without 
violence,  there  was  to  have  been  established  an  order 
and  form  of  procedure  by  a  general  council,  composed 
of  sixty  persons,  four  on  the  part  of  each  dominion, 
which  was  to  have  been  situated  in  some  city  in  the 
midst  of  Europe,  such  as  Metz,  Nancy,  Cologne,  or 


HENRI   IV.  373 

some  other  equally  convenient.  There  were  likewise 
to  have  been  established  three  other  councils,  each 
of  twenty  men,  which  were  to  report  to  the  grand 
council. 

Moreover,  by  the  consent  of  the  general  council, 
which  was  to  be  called  the  Senate  of  the  Christian 
Commonwealth,  there  was  to  be  established  an  order 
and  regulation  between  sovereign  and  subjects,  to  hin- 
der on  one  side  the  oppression  and  tyranny  of  princes, 
and  on  the  other  side  the  complaints  and  rebellions  of 
subjects.  There  was  likewise  to  have  been  raised  and 
assured  a  reserve  of  money  and  men,  to  which  every 
dominion  was  to  contribute  according  to  the  assess- 
ment of  the  grand  council,  for  the  assistance  of  the 
dominions  liable  to  the  attacks  of  infidels,  to  wit, 
Hungary  against  those  of  the  Turks,  and  Sweden 
and  Poland  against  those  of  the  Muscovites  and 
Tartars. 

When  all  these  fifteen  dominions  had  been  well 
established  with  their  rights,  their  governors,  and 
limits,  which  he  hoped  might  be  done  in  less  than 
three  years,  they  were  together  to  have  chosen  three 
general  captains,  two  military  and  one  naval,  who 
were  at  once  to  have  assaulted  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
To  this  each  dominion  was  to  have  contributed  a 
certain  quantity  of  men,  ships,  artillery,  and  money, 
according  to  the  tax  imposed.  The  total  contribu- 
tion was  to  amount  to  265,000  foot,  50,000  horse,  a 


374  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

train  of  217  pieces  of  artillery,  with  wagons,  officers, 
and  ammunition  proportionate,  and  117  great  ships 
and  galleys,  besides  vessels  of  less  power,  fireships, 
and  ships  of  burden. 

This  establishment  would  have  been  advantageous 
to  all  Christian  princes  and  states.  There  was  only 
the  House  of  Austria  which  would  suffer  any  loss, 
and  which  was  to  be  despoiled  for  the  benefit  of 
others.  But  the  plan  was  to  make  them  consent 
either  willingly  or  force  them  to  it  in  this  manner. 
First,  we  must  suppose  that,  on  the  part  of  Italy,  the 
Pope,  the  Yenetians,  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy  were  to 
be  informed  of  the  King's  designs,  and  would  then 
assist  with  all  their  forces,  especially  the  Duke  of 
Savoy,  who  was  then  greatly  pleased,  because  the 
King  gave  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  Victor  Ama- 
deo,  son  of  the  Duke.  In  Germany  four  electors, 
to  wit,  those  of  Palatine,  Brandenburg,  Cologne,  and 
Mentz,  were  likewise  to  know  it  and  favour  it.  The 
Duke  of  Bavaria  had  their  word,  and  that  of  the  King, 
to  raise  him  to  the  Empire ;  and  many  imperial  cities 
had  already  addressed  themselves  to  the  King,  to  be- 
seech him  to  honour  them  with  his  protection,  and 
to  maintain  them  in  their  privileges,  which  had  been 
abolished  by  the  House  of  Austria.  In  Bohemia  and 
Hungary  communication  was  held  with  the  nobility, 
and  the  people,  desperate  with  the  weight  of  that 
yoke,  were  ready  to  shake  it  off,  and  to  throw  them- 


HENRI   IV.  375 

selves  into  the  arms  of  him  who  should  first  extend 
them. 

All  these  dispositions  being  so  favourable  to  him, 
the  business  of  Cleves  happened,  which  furnished  him 
with  a  fair  occasion  to  begin  the  execution  of  his  pro- 
jects, which  was  to  be  carried  out  in  this  manner. 

Having  raised  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men,  as 
he  did,  he  was  in  his  march  to  send  to  all  the  princes 
of  Christendom,  to  give  them  the  knowledge  of  his 
just  and  holy  intentions.  After  this,  under  the  pre- 
text of  going  to  Cleves,  he  was  to  seize  all  the  pas- 
sages of  the  Meuse,  and  at  once  assault  Charlemont, 
Maestricht,  and  Namur,  which  were  badly  fortified.  At 
the  same  time  the  cities  of  the  Low  Countries  would 
cry  out  for  liberty,  and  the  nobles  put  themselves  in 
the  field  for  the  same  purpose,  and  blazon  the  Belgian 
lion  with  the  fleur-de-lis.  The  Hollanders  would  in- 
fest the  coasts  with  their  ships  to  hinder  the  com- 
merce of  the  Flemings  by  sea,  as  it  was  shut  up  by 
the  French  by  land,  which  was  to  have  been  done  to 
hasten  the  people  to  shake  off  the  Spanish  rule,  and 
to  address  themselves  to  the  King  and  to  his  allies, 
asking  them  to  pray  the  King  of  Spain  to  give  them 
liberty,  and  out  of  his  goodness  to  restore  peace  to 
them,  which  they  could  never  hope  for  so  long  as  they 
were  under  his  dominion. 

In  all  probability,  at  the  approach  of  so  great  an 
army,  the  understanding  between  the  principal  nobles. 


376  HISTORIC    COURT   JVIEMOIRS. 

the  insurrection  of  the  great  cities,  and  the  love 
which  these  people  always  had  for  liberty,  would 
have  caused  all  Flanders  to  rise,  especially  when  they 
had  seen  the  wonderful  order  and  exact  discipline  of 
the  King's  soldiers,  who  would  live  like  good  guests, 
paying  for  all,  and  not  doing  the  least  outrage  upon 
pain  of  death ;  and  when  it  became  known  that  he 
laboured  only  for  the  safety  of  the  people,  not  reserv- 
ing for  himself  anything  of  all  his  conquests  except 
the  glory  and  the  satisfaction  of  having  restored  those 
provinces  to  their  liberty,  without  keeping  so  much  as 
a  castle  or  village  to  himself. 

At  the  same  time  that  he  had  put  Flanders  into  a 
free  state,  and  settled  the  difference  of  the  succession 
of  Cleves,  all  the  princes  interested  in  this  business, 
the  electors  we  have  named,  and  the  deputies  of  many 
great  cities,  were  to  come  to  thank  him,  and  entreat 
him  that  he  would  join  his  prayers  and  his  authority 
to  the  supplications  they  had  to  make  to  the  Emperor, 
to  dispose  him  to  restore  the  states  and  cities  of  the 
Empire  to  their  ancient  rights  and  immunities ;  above 
all,  in  the  free  election  of  a  King  of  the  Romans, 
without  using  any  constraint,  promises,  or  threats. 
To  this  effect  it  was  to  be  from  that  moment  resolved 
that  they  should  elect  one  of  another  house  than  that 
of  Austria.  They  had  agreed  among  themselves  that 
it  should  be  the  Duke  of  Bavaria.  The  Pope  would 
join  with  them   in    this  request,  which  would   have 


HENRI   IV.  377 

been  made  so  urgently  that  it  would  have  been  diffi- 
cult for  the  Emperor,  unarmed,  as  he  was,  to  refuse 
it. 

The  like  request  was  to  have  been  made  to  the 
King  and  his  associates  by  the  people  of  Bohemia, 
Hungary,  Austria,  Styria,  and  Carinthia;  above  all, 
for  the  right  they  had  to  choose  their  own  prince 
themselves,  and  to  put  themselves  under  that  form  of 
government  they  should  think  best,  by  the  advice 
of  their  friends  and  allies.  To  which  the  King  con- 
descending, he  would  use  all  sorts  of  fair  means, 
prayers,  and  supplications,  even  below  his  dignity, 
that  it  might  be  seen  he  intended  not  so  much  to 
avail  himself  of  force  as  of  equity  and  reason. 

After  this  the  Duke  of  Savoy  would  demand  of 
the  King  of  Spain,  with  all  sorts  of  civility  and  in  the 
name  of  his  children,  that  he  would  be  pleased  to 
give  them  a  dowry  for  their  mother  as  good  and 
advantageous  as  he  had  their  aunt  Isabella ;  and  in 
case  of  refusal,  the  King  was  to  permit  Lesdiguieres 
to  assist  him  with  fifteen  thousand  foot,  and  two 
thousand  horse,  for  the  conquest  of  Milan  or  the 
country  of  Lombardy,  in  which  he  would  have  been 
favoured  by  the  greater  part  of  the  princes  of  Italy. 

This  done,  he  with  his  associates  were  to  beseech 
the  Pope  and  the  Venetians  to  become  arbitrators 
between  him  and  the  King  of  Spain,  to  terminate 
peaceably  those  differences  which  were  ready  to  break 


378  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

forth  between  them,  by  reason  of  Naples,  Sicily, 
Navarre,  and  Roussillon.  And  then,  to  show  that  he 
had  no  thought  of  his  own  aggrandisement,  nor  other 
ambition  than  to  secure  the  peace  of  Chidstendom,  he 
would  be  ready  to  yield  to  the  Spaniards  Navarre  and 
Roussillon,  provided  that  they  restored  Naples  and 
Sicily ;  not  for  himself,  for  he  desired  no  other  king- 
dom than  France,  but  for  the  Pope  and  the  Venetians, 
to  whom  he  would  have  yielded  his  right  over  those 
countries. 

Finally,  by  an  apostolic  legate  and  by  the  remon- 
strances of  all  his  associates,  he  would  have  let  the 
King  of  Spain  understand  his  design,  together  with 
the  princes  of  his  house,  and  would  conjure  them  by 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  to  consent  to  it,  as  being 
holy,  pious,  charitable,  glorious,  and  profitable  to  all 
Christendom.  They  would  lay  before  him  the  advan- 
tages which  come  to  himself,  and  endeavour  to  make 
him  comprehend  that  he  would  be  richer,  less  dis- 
turbed, and  more  peaceable ;  and  that  in  twenty  years 
Spain,  which  was  almost  deserted,  would  be  repeopled, 
and  become  the  most  flourishing  State  of  Europe.  I 
believe  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  persuade  him 
to  it ;  for  irregular  and  ill-advised  ambition  embraces 
chimeras  rather  than  solid  things,  and  chooses  rather 
to  possess  vast  and  desert  countries  than  a  reasonable 
extent  well  cultivated  and  well  peopled ;  but  possibly 
arms  might  have  convinced  him,  had  reason  failed. 


HENRI  IV.  379 

For  the  rest,  the  King  had  resolved  to  renounce  all 
pretension ;  not  to  keep  anything  of  what  he  con- 
quered ;  not  to  attempt  anything  which  should  not 
be  approved  by  his  allies,  and  which  he  saw  them  not 
disposed  to  contribute  to ;  not  to  begin  in  many  dis- 
tant places  at  a  time,  but  to  pursue  his  expeditions  by 
degrees,  waiting  for  the  success  of  the  first  before  he 
engaged  in  others ;  to  show  himself  to  be  without 
ambition,  without  covetousness  or  pride  in  the  distri- 
bution of  quarters,  victuals,  spoils,  and  conquests ;  to 
favour  the  weak  and  necessitous  states;  to  always 
send  some  honourable  and  profitable  acknowledgment 
to  all  the  captains  or  soldiers  who  had  performed 
some  worthy  exploit;  never  to  enter  into  those  difii- 
culties  which  so  often  arise  between  friends  and 
allies ;  but  to  always  appear  an  equal,  just,  and  com- 
mon friend ;  to  treat  honourably  the  men  of  war  with 
praises  or  reproofs  when  they  deserved  them,  and  to 
maintain  sti'ict  discipline,  prohibiting  disorder,  viola- 
tions, and  burnings,  so  that  he  might  be  received  as 
the  restorer  of  nations  and  one  who  brought  peace 
and  liberty,  not  ruin  and  desolation. 

He  had  prepared  his  designs,  made  his  prepara- 
tions, and  arranged  all  his  means  to  this  end,  with 
all  the  diligence  imaginable,  for  the  space  of  eight  or 
nine  years.  He  had  made  friends  and  allies  on  all 
sides,  and  kept  up  communications  everywhere.  He 
had  won  over  the  college  of  cardinals  by  great  pen- 


380  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

sions,  had  drawn  to  his  service  all  the  good  captains 
in  Germany  and  Switzerland,  and  had  likewise  en- 
listed all  the  good  writers  in  Christendom  on  his 
side ;  for  indeed  he  would  have  chosen  rather  to  per- 
suade than  force  people,  and  instruct  them  so  well  in 
his  intentions  that  they  should  regard  his  arms  as 
forces  held  in  reserve,  to  be  used  only  as  a  last  resort. 

This  was  the  groundwork  of  his  design,  which, 
without  dissembling,  was  so  great  that  it  may  be  said 
it  was  conceived  by  an  intelligence  more  than  human. 
But  great  as  it  was,  it  was  not  above  his  power; 
for  if  princes  do  not  limit  their  undertakings  by  their 
power,  it  happens  that  they  ruin  their  states,  just  as 
a  man  who  undertakes  a  suit  at  law,  or  makes  greater 
bargains  than  his  purse  is  able  to  sustain,  is  obliged 
in  the  end  to  sell  his  stock  and  is  swamped  in  a  sea 
of  debts  and  troubles. 

Besides  his  forces,  which  were  great  in  number,  but 
ten  times  greater  in  valour,  being  all  chosen  men,  and 
having  amongst  them  four  thousand  gentlemen,  dar- 
ing all  things  in  the  sight  of  their  King,  the  Prince  of 
Orange  was  to  put  himself  in  the  field  with  fifteen 
thousand  foot  and  two  thousand  horse,  and  the  Prince 
of  Anhalt  in  Germany  with  ten  thousand.  The  Elec- 
tors and  the  Duke  of  Bavaria  had  in  readiness  twice 
as  many,  who  would  have  met  at  places  agreed  upon 
at  the  first  sound  of  the  trumpet.  The  Venetians  and 
the  Duke  of  Savoy  would  each  have  been  ready  with 


HENRI   IV.  381 

a  considerable  army  at  the  first  signal  given.  As  for 
the  Swiss,  besides  a  levy  of  six  thousand  chosen  men 
who  came  to  the  King,  he  might  have  had  as  many 
more  as  he  desired.  As  regards  money,  all  his  troops 
were  paid  for  three  months,  his  garrisons  well  fm:- 
nished,  all  his  storehouses  on  the  frontiers  full,  and 
his  captains  honoured  with  great  presents  which  he 
had  made  them.  He  had  fourteen  million  livres  in 
the  Bastille,  seven  millions  in  the  hands  of  the  treas- 
urer of  the  exchequer,  which  formed  the  profits  of 
the  preceding  year,  and  two  millions  in  other  hands. 
Moreover,  there  was  the  current  revenue,  which  was 
more  than  twenty-seven  millions ;  and  besides  all  this. 
Sully,  his  chief  treasurer,  assured  him  of  forty  mil- 
lions extraordinary  for  three  years ;  so  that  he  might 
maintain  a  four  years'  war  without  burdening  his  sub- 
jects with  new  charges.  But  he  proposed  to  carry  it 
on  so  vigorously  that  it  could  last  but  a  short  time ; 
for  he  held  that  a  wise  prince,  when  he  is  obliged  to 
declare  war,  ought  to  make  it  powerful  and  short,  and 
at  once  astonish  the  world  with  formidable  prepara- 
tions, because  by  this  means  the  greatness  of  the 
expense  becomes  economy,  and  the  conquests  made 
through  fear  of  his  arms  reach  further  than  those 
made  by  his  arms   themselves. 

I  have  told  you  what  was  his  design ;  none  but 
God  knows  what  would  have  been  its  success.  We 
may  say,  however,  judging  according  to  appearances, 


382  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

that  it  could  not  but  be  bappy,  for  there  appeared  no 
prince  nor  state  in  Christendom  who  would  not  have 
favoured  it,  or  who  would  have  taken  the  part  of  the 
House  of  Austria,  except  the  Duke  of  Saxony  in  Ger- 
many, and  the  Duke  of  Florence  in  Italy.  But  the 
King  might  have  satisfied  them  both, —  the  first,  by 
assisting  against  him  the  heirs  of  that  Duke  William 
who  had  formerly  been  despoiled  of  the  electorate  by 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.;  the  second  by  stirring  up 
Pisa,  Sienna,  and  Florence  to  cry  for  liberty  and 
shake  off  their  yoke  under  the  Medici. 

But  it  is  time  that  I  told  you  what  the  business 
of  Cleves  and  Juliers  was,  which  had  furnished  him 
with  an  occasion  to  take  arms,  and  opened  ways  to 
him  to  begin  his  great  design.  John  William,  Duke 
of  Juliers,  Cloves,  and  Berghe,  Earl  de  la  Marck  and 
Ravensburg,  was  the  son  of  Duke  William  and  Mary 
of  Austria,  sister  to  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  and 
grandchild  to  Duke  John.  He  having  died  without 
children,  on  the  25th  of  March,  1609,  the  question 
of  his  succession  was  the  cause  of  trouble  in  the 
neighbouring  states.  He  had  four  sisters,  the  first 
married  to  the  Marquis  of  Brandenburg,  the  sec- 
ond to  the  Count  Palatine  of  Neuburg,  the  third  to 
the  Due  de  Deux-Ponts,  and  the  fourth  to  the  Mar- 
quis of  Burgaw.  The  children  of  these  marriages 
claimed  succession,  the  nearest  excluding  the  farthest 
and  the  sons  the  daughters.     The  Duke  of   Saxony, 


HENRI  IV.  383 

descended  from  an  elder  daughter  of  Duke  Johnj 
grandfather  of  Duke  William,  said  likewise  that  it  be- 
longed to  him  in  preference  to  all  the  others,  because 
it  was  concluded,  ir  the  marriage  contract  of  that 
lady,  that  in  the  event  of  there  being  no  male  heir  to 
the  House  of  Juliers,  the  succession  should  return  to 
him  and  his  descendants ;  and  as  this  had  actually 
happened,  it  necessarily  followed  that  the  succession 
was  open  to  him.  The  Due  de  Nevers  also  pretended 
to  the  duchy  of  Cloves,  as  he  alone  carried  the  name 
and  arms  of  Cloves ;  and  the  Comte  de  Maulevrier,  for 
the  same  reason,  demanded  the  county  of  La  Marck,  for 
he  was  the  eldest  De  la  Marck,  and  in  this  quality  he 
claimed  likewise  the  duchy  of  Bouillon  and  the  sei- 
gniory of  Sedan,  which  were  held  by  the  Vicomte  de  Tu- 
renne,  Mar^chal  de  Bouillon.  The  Emperor  said  that 
all  these  pretensions  were  ill  founded,  for  those  lands, 
being  male  fiefs,  could  not  descend  to  daughters,  but 
in  default  of  males  devolved  to  the  Empire,  and  there- 
fore he  should  have  the  disposal  of  them.  He  secretly 
gave  the  investiture  to  Leopold  of  Austria,  Bishop  of 
Strasburg,  and  sent  his  forces  to  seize  those  lands 
under  pretext  of  right,  and  in  the  meantime  com- 
manded the  parties  to  appear  before  his  Imperial 
Majesty  to  prefer  their  claims. 

The  Due  de  Nevers  and  the  Comte  de  Maulevrier 
were  not  very  energetic  in  their  claims,  because  they 
were  given  to  understand  that  the  fiefs  they  demanded 


384  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

were  united,  and  could  not  be  dismembered.  The 
claims  of  the  Marquis  of  Brandenburg  and  the  Mar- 
quis of  Neuburg  appearing  to  be  the  best,  there  was 
bitter  conflict  between  them.  The  Landgrave  of 
Hesse,  their  common  friend,  became  mediator  for 
them,  and  induced  them  to  agree  to  decide  their  dif- 
ference in  a  friendly  manner,  without  employing  their 
forces,  except  against  usurpers,  the  administration  of 
the  succession  remaining  equal  and  common  amongst 
them,  saving  the  rights  of  the  Emperor.  But  in  the 
meantime  Leopold  of  Austria  arrived  with  his  forces 
and  seized  Juliers. 

The  two  Princes  resolved  to  drive  him  out,  and 
sought  assistance  on  all  sides,  particularly  imploring 
that  of  the  King,  to  whom  they  sent  the  Prince  of 
Anhalt  with  the  letters  of  the  Electors  Palatine  and  of 
the  Duke  of  Wiirtemburg,  who  assured  him  that  his 
arms  would  be  just,  powerful,  and  by  the  grace  of  God 
victorious.  The  Prince  of  Anhalt  no  doubt  conversed 
with  him  of  many  other  things  touching  the  "  great 
design."  The  King  gave  him  a  most  gracious  recep- 
tion, and  received  his  propositions  with  an  miparalleled 
joy.  He  answered  him,  in  terms  as  obliging  as  he 
could,  that  he  would  march  in  person  to  the  assist- 
ance of  his  good  allies  ;  and  that  until  such  time  as 
he  could  set  out  with  an  equipage  befitting  a  King  of 
France,  he  would  send  some  troops  on  in  advance, 
which  he  did  about  the  end  of  the  year  1609.     But, 


HENRI  IV.  385 

moreover,  he  prayed  him  to  let  the  confederate 
Princes  miderstand  that  they  would  do  him  great 
wrong  if  they  thought  that  he  intended  any  prejudice 
to  the  Catholic  religion  in  that  country ;  for  he  de- 
sired above  all  things  that  the  exercise  of  it  should 
be  preserved  as  it  was  before  the  death  of  Duke 
William,  who  was  a  Catholic,  while  Brandenburg  and 
Neuburg  were  Protestants. 

The  Emperor  likewise  sent  one  of  his  confidential 
ambassadors,  entreating  him  not  to  favour  the  rebel- 
lion and  injustice  of  these  Princes,  and  to  consider 
that  he  could  not  assist  them  without  doing  wrong  to 
the  Catholic  religion.  Henri  the  Great  answered  him 
that,  being  the  most  Christian  King,  he  knew  well 
how  to  maintain  and  enlarge  his  title,  but  that  it  was 
only  a  question  of  succouring  his  friends,  to  whom  he 
should  never  be  wanting  so  long  as  he  had  life. 

During  the  whole  winter  he  gave  orders  for  all  prep- 
arations for  this  expedition,  which  was  only  the  cover 
to  a  greater  one.  Being  resolved  to  undertake  it  per- 
sonally, he  endeavoured,  before  his  departure  from  the 
kingdom,  to  establish  such  good  order  in  the  govern- 
ment of  it  that  no  trouble  could  happen  during  his 
absence.  He  believed  that  the  best  way  to  secure  this 
was  to  leave  the  regency  to  the  Queen ;  but  because 
he  knew  that  she  was  governed  by  Concini,  whom  he 
did  not  approve,  he  appointed  a  council  composed  of 
fifteen  persons  to  assist  her,  these  being  the  Cardinals 


386  HISTORIC   COURT   MEMOIRS. 

de  Joyeuse  and  du  Perron ;  the  Dues  de  Mayenne,  de 
Montmorency,  and  de  Montbazon ;  the  Marechaux  de 
Brissac  and  de  Fervaques ;  Ch^teau-Neuf ,  who  was  to 
have  been  keeper  of  the  seals  of  the  regency,  for  the 
King  wished  to  take  his  chancellor  with  him  ;  Achille 
de  Harlay,  First  President  of  Parliament;  Nicolas, 
First  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce ;  the 
Comte  de  Chateau-Vieux  and  the  Seigneur  de  Lian- 
court,  two  wise  gentlemen ;  Pontcarr^,  Councillor  of 
Parliament ;  Gevres,  Secretary  of  State  ;  and  Mau- 
peou,  Controller  of  the  Revenues. 

Moreover,  he  established  a  council  of  five  persons  in 
every  one  of  the  twelve  provinces  of  France,  one  person 
for  the  clergy,  one  for  the  nobility,  one  for  justice,  one 
for  the  revenues,  and  one  for  the  body  of  the  cities ; 
and  these  twelve  minor  councils  were  to  have  corre- 
spondence with  and  dependence  on  the  great  one, 
which  was  to  take  its  resolutions  by  voting,  the  Queen 
having  only  her  vote.  Its  power  was  defined  by  the 
general  instructions  formed  by  the  King,  and  nothing 
might  be  done  without  informing  his  Majesty  of  it, 
if  it  were  a  thing  which  his  instructions  did  not 
clearly  enough  explain.  Thus,  though  absent,  he 
kept  the  reins  of  government  and  tied  the  hands  of 
the  Queen,  in  case  she  should  be  inclined  to  take  too 
much  authority,  or  be  induced  to  abuse  her  command. 

Whilst  he  applied  his  mind  to  these  things,  some 
persons,  amongst  others  Concini  and  his  wife,  put  it 


HENRI   lY.  387 

into  the  mind  of  the  Queen  that  she  should,  to  acquire 
more  dignity  and  splendour  in  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
and  more  advantageously  to  authorise  her  regency, 
be  consecrated  and  crowned  before  the  departure  of 
the  King.  For  the  same  reasons  that  she  desired  it, 
the  King  found  it  not  agreeable  to  him ;  besides  which 
this  ceremony  could  not  be  performed  without  a  great 
deal  of  expense  and  great  loss  of  time,  which  would 
keep  him  at  Paris  and  retard  his  designs.  He  was 
extremely  impatient  to  depart  from  that  city.  I  do 
not  know  what  secret  instinct  pressed  him  to  be  gone 
as  soon  as  possible,  but  the  consecration  troubled  him ; 
yet  he  could  not  refuse  this  mark  of  his  affection  to 
the  Queen,  who  passionately  desired  it. 

Sully  recounts  that  he  heard  him  say  more  than 
once :  "  My  friend,  this  consecration  presages  me 
some  misfortune.  They  will  kill  me ;  I  shall  never 
depart  from  this  city.  My  enemies  have  no  other 
remedy  but  my  death ;  they  have  told  me  that  I  shall 
be  killed  at  the  first  great  magnificence  that  I  make, 
and  that  I  shall  die  in  a  coach.  This  makes  me 
often,  when  I  am  in  one,  be  seized  with  tremblings, 
and  be  fearful  in  spite  of  myself." 

They  counselled  him  to  shun  these  ill  prophecies, 
to  depart  on  the  morrow,  and  leave  the  consecration 
to  take  place  without  him.  But  the  Queen  was  ex- 
tremely offended ;  and  he  obligingly  remained  to 
satisfy  her.     The  consecration  took  place  at  St.  Denis 


388  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

on  the  13th  of  May ;  and  the  Queen  on  the  16th  of 
the  same  month  was  to  make  her  entry  into  Paris, 
where  magnificent  preparations  had  been  made  in  her 
honour. 

Ah-eady  had  the  forces  of  the  King  met  at  their 
rendezvous  on  the  frontiers  of  Champagne.  Already 
had  the  nobility,  who  had  come  from  all  parts,  sent 
their  equipages.  The  Due  de  Rohan  had  gone  to 
organise  the  six  thousand  Swiss ;  and  fifty  pieces  of 
artillery  had  been  sent  from  the  arsenal.  The  King 
sent  to  demand  of  the  Archduke  and  the  Infanta  in 
what  manner  they  desired  that  he  should  cross  their 
country,  either  as  a  friend  or  an  enemy.  Every  hour 
of  delay  seemed  to  him  a  year,  as  if  he  had  had  pres- 
age of  some  misfortune  to  himself;  and  certainly 
both  heaven  and  earth  had  given  but  too  many  prog- 
nostications of  what  happened.  A  very  great  eclipse 
of  the  whole  body  of  the  sun,  which  happened  in  the 
year  1608  ;  a  terrible  comet,  which  appeared  in  the 
year  preceding ;  earthquakes  in  several  places ;  mon- 
sters born  in  various  parts  of  France ;  rains  of  blood, 
which  fell  in  several  places ;  a  great  plague,  which 
afflicted  Paris  in  the  year  1606  ;  apparitions  of  phan- 
toms, and  many  other  prodigies  kept  men  in  fear  of 
some  horrible  event. 

Henri's  enemies  were  at  present  perfectly  quiet, 
which  possibly  was  caused  not  only  by  their  conster- 
nation and  by  the  fear  of  the  success  of  his  arms,  but 


HENRI   IV.  389 

also  by  the  expectation  tliey  had  of  the  success  of 
some  great  blow,  in  which  lay  all  their  hopes.  There 
undoubtedly  were  many  conspiracies  against  the  life 
of  this  good  King,  since  fron;i  twenty  places  warning 
was  given  of  it.  Both  in  Spain  and  Milan  a  report 
was  spread  in  print  of  his  death.  Eight  days  before 
he  was  assassinated  a  courier  passed  through  the  city 
of  Li^ge,  who  said  that  he  carried  news  to  the  princes 
of  Germany  that  the  King  was  killed.  At  Montargis 
a  paper  was  found  upon  the  altar,  containing  the  pre- 
diction of  his  approaching  death  by  a  premeditated 
blow.  The  report  that  he  would  not  outlive  that 
year,  and  that  he  would  die  a  tragic  death  in  the 
fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  ran  through  France. 
He  himself,  who  was  not  overcredulous,  placed  some 
faith  in  these  warnings,  and  seemed  as  one  condemned 
to  death,  so  sad  and  downcast  was  he,  though  natu- 
rally he  was  neither  melancholy  nor  fearful. 

There  had  been  in  Paris  for  about  two  years  a  cer- 
tain wicked  rogue  named  Fran9ois  Ravaillac,  a  native 
of  the  country  of  Angoumois ;  red-haired,  a  visionary, 
with  a  melancholy  look,  who  had  been  a  monk,  but 
after  quitting  the  frock  turned  notary,  and  came  to 
Paris.  It  was  not  known  whether  he  came  for  the 
purpose  of  striking  this  blow,  or  whether  he  had  been 
induced  to  do  this  execrable  deed  by  those  people  who, 
knowing  that  he  had  yet  in  his  heart  some  leaven  of 
the  League  and  that  false  persuasion  that  the  King 


390  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

was  about  to  OYerturn  the  Catholic  religion  in  Grer- 
many,  judged  him  a  proper  person  to  deliver  the 
blow. 

If  it  be  asked  who  were  the  devils  who  inspired 
him  with  so  damnable  a  thought,  and  who  spurred  him 
forward  to  put  it  into  execution,  this  history  answers 
that  it  knows  nothing,  and  that  in  a  thing  so  impor- 
tant it  is  not  permissible  to  give  currency  to  suspi- 
cions and  conjectures  as  assured  truths^  The  judges 
themselves,  who  examined  him,  dared  not  open  their 
mouths,  but  spoke  very  reservedly. 

On  the  day  after  the  consecration,  being  the  14th 
of  May,  the  King  came  from  the  Louvre  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  go  to  the  arsenal  to  visit 
Sully,  who  was  indisposed,  and  to  see  the  preparations 
made  at  the  bridge  of  Notre-Dame  and  the  HStel  de 
Ville  for  the  reception  of  the  Queen.  He  was  in  the 
body  of  the  coach,  having  the  Due  d'Epernon  by  his 
side  ;  the  Due  de  Montbazon,  the  Mardchal  de  Lavar- 
din,  Roquelaure,  La  Force,  Mirabeau,  and  Liancourt, 
chief  equerry,  were  in  front  and  in  the  boots.  His 
coach,  on  eniering  from  the  street  of  St.  Honord  into 
that  of  the  Perronnerie,  found  on  the  right  hand  a 
cart  laden  with  wine,  and  on  the  left  another  laden 
with  hay.  As  the  street  is  very  narrow  because  of 
the  shops  built  against  the  wall  of  the  churchyard  of 
the  Holy  Innocents,  the  coach  was  obliged  to  stop. 
King  Henri  II.  had  formerly  commanded  the  shops  te 


HENRI  IV.  391 

be  pulled  down,  to  render  the  passage  more  free,  but 
the  order  was  never  carried  out.  Alas,  that  one-half 
of  Paris  had  not  rather  been  beaten  down  than  have 
seen  this  great  misfortune,  which  has  been  the  cause 
of  so  many  other  miseries  I  The  footmen  having  passed 
through  the  churchyard  of  the  Holy  Innocents  to 
avoid  the  block,  and  no  person  being  near  the  coach, 
Ravaillac,  who  for  a  long  time  had  obstinately  followed 
the  King  to  give  his  blow,  observing  the  side  on  which 
he  sat,  thrust  himself  between  the  shops  and  the  coach, 
and,  setting  one  foot  on  one  of  the  spokes  of  the  wheel 
and  the  other  against  a  post,  gave  him  a  stab  with  a 
knife  between  the  second  and  third  ribs,  a  little  be- 
neath the  heart.  At  this  blow  the  King  cried  out, "  I 
am  wounded  !  "  But  the  villain,  not  in  the  least  ter- 
rified, redoubled  tlie  blow,  and  struck  him  in  the  heart. 
The  King  died  immediately,  without  so  much  as  heav- 
ing a  sigh.  The  mm-derer  was  so  resolute  that  he 
gave  yet  a  third  blow,  which  fell  on  the  sleeve  of  the 
Due  de  Montbazon.  Afterwards,  he  neither  attempted 
to  flee  nor  to  conceal  his  knife,  but  stood  still,  as  if  to 
show  himseK  and  to  glory  in  so  fair  an  exploit. 

He  was  arrested  on  the  spot,  examined  by  the  com- 
missioners of  Parliament,  judged  by  the  Chamber  of 
Assemblies,  and  sentenced  to  be  dragged  to  pieces  by 
four  horses  in  the  Gr^ve,  which  he  underwent,  after  hav- 
ing had  the  flesh  of  his  breasts,  arms,  and  thighs  torn 
off  with  burning  pincers,  without  testifying  the  least 


392  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

fear  or  grief  at  such  terrible  tortures.  This  strongly 
confirmed  the  suspicion  that  certain  emissaries,  under 
the  mask  of  piety  and  religion,  had  instigated  him  to 
do  the  deed  by  the  false  assurance  that  he  would  die 
a  martyr  if  he  killed  him  whom  they  pretended  was 
the  sworn  enemy  of  the  Church. 

The  Due  d'Epernon,  seeing  that  the  King  was  dead, 
caused  the  coach  to  turn  back,  and  carried  his  body  to 
the  Louvre,  where  it  was  opened  in  the  presence  of 
twenty-six  physicians  and  surgeons,  who  found  that  in 
the  course  of  nature  he  might  have  lived  another 
thirty  years. 

His  entrails  were  the  same  hour  sent  to  St.  Denis 
and  interred  without  any  ceremony.  The  Jesuit 
Fathers  demanded  the  heart,  and  carried  it  to  the 
church  of  La  Fleche,  where  this  great  King  had  given 
them  his  house  to  build  a  beautiful  college.  The 
body,  embalmed,  wrapped  in  lead,  placed  in  a  coffin  of 
wood,  with  a  cloth  of  gold  over  it,  was  laid  in  the 
King's  chamber  under  a  canopy,  with  two  altars  on 
each  side,  on  which  mass  was  said  for  eighteen  days 
continuously.  Afterwards  it  was  taken  to  St.  Denis, 
where  it  was  buried  with  the  ordinary  ceremonies, 
eight  days  after  that  of  Henri  III.,  his  predecessor. 
For  the  body  of  Henri  HI.  had  remained  until  then 
in  the  church  of  St.  Corneille  in  Compi^gne,  whence 
the  Dues  d'Epernon  and  de  Bellegarde,  formerly  his 
favourites,  brought  it  to  St.  Denis,  and  caused  the 


HENRI   IV.  393 

funeral  rites  to  be  celebrated,  courtesy  making  it 
necessary  that  he  should  be  buried  before  his 
successor. 

The  King's  death  was  concealed  from  the  city  all  the 
rest  of  the  day  of  the  murder  and  a  good  part  of  the 
next,  whilst  the  Queen  disposed  the  grandees  and 
the  Parliament  to  give  her  the  regency.  She  obtained 
it  without  much  difficulty,  having  led  the  young  King 
her  son  to  the  Parliament,  —  the  Prince  de  Cond^ 
and  the  Comte  de  Soissons,  who  alone  could  have 
opposed  it,  being  absent.  The  former  was  at  Milan, 
as  we  have  said  before ;  and  the  latter  at  his  house 
at  Blandy,  whither  he  had  retired  discontented  some 
days  before  the  consecration  of  the  Queen. 

When  the  report  of  this  tragical  event  was  spread 
through  Paris,  and  they  knew  that  the  King,  whom 
they  believed  only  wounded,  was  dead,  that  mixture 
of  hope  and  fear  which  kept  this  great  city  in  sus- 
pense suddenly  broke  forth  into  extravagant  cries 
and  furious  gi'oans.  Some  through  grief  became  im- 
movable as  statues  ;  others  ran  through  the  streets 
like  madmen ;  others  again  embraced  their  friends 
without  saying  anything  but,  "  Oh,  what  misfortune ! " 
Women  were  seen  with  dishevelled  hair,  running 
about  howling  and  lamenting;  fathers  said  to  their 
children,  "  What  will  become  of  you,  my  children  ? 
You  have  lost  your  father."  Those  who  had  most 
apprehension    of   the    time   to    come,    and   who    re- 


394  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

membered  the  horrible  calamities  of  the  past  wars, 
lamented  the  misfortmie  of  France,  and  said  that 
that  accursed  blow  which  had  pierced  the  heart  of 
the  King  cut  the  throats  of  all  true  Frenchmen.  It 
is  reported  that  many  were  so  severely  stricken  with 
grief  that  they  died,  some  upon  the  spot,  and  others 
a  few  days  after.  In  fact,  this  seemed  not  to  be 
mourning  for  the  death  of  one  man  alone,  but  for 
one-half  of  all  men.  It  might  have  been  said  that 
every  one  had  lost  his  whole  family,  all  his  goods, 
and  all  his  hopes  by  the  death  of  this  great  King. 

He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years  and  five 
months,  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his  reign  over 
Navarre,  and  the  twenty-first  of  that  over  France. 

He  was  married  twice,  as  we  have  said  before ; 
first  with  Marguerite  of  France,  by  whom  he  had  no 
children,  and  the  second  time  with  Marie  de  M^dicis. 
Marguerite  was  daughter  to  King  Henri  II.,  and 
sister  to  the  Kings  Fran9ois  II.,  Charles  IX.,  and 
Henri  III.  He  was  divorced  from  her  by  sentence 
of  the  prelates  deputed  for  that  purpose  from  the 
Pope.  Marie  de  M^dicis  was  daughter  to  Francois, 
and  niece  to  Ferdinand,  Dukes  of  Florence.  She 
bore  him  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 

The  sons  were  all  born  at  Fontainebleau.  The 
first,  Louis,  was  born  on  the  27th  of  September, 
1601.  He  was  King  after  Henri,  and  had  the  sur- 
name of  the  Just.      The  second  was  born  on  the 


HENRI   IV.  395 

16th  of  April,  1607.  He  had  the  title  of  Due  d'Or- 
l^ans,  but  no  name,  because  he  died  in  the  year  1611, 
before  the  ceremony  of  his  baptism  was  celebrated. 
The  tliird  was  born  on  the  25th  of  April,  1608,  and 
was  named  Jean  Baptiste  Gaston,  and  had  the  title 
of  Due  d'Anjou,  but  on  the  death  of  the  second  son 
that  of  Due  d'Orl^ans  was  given  him,  which  he  bore 
till  his  death. 

The  eldest  of  the  daughters  was  born  at  Fontaine- 
bleau  on  the  22d  of  November,  1602.  She  was  the 
second  child,  ard  was  named  Elisabeth,  or  Isabella. 
She  was  married  to  Philip  lY.,  King  of  Spain.  She 
was  a  princess  of  brave  heart,  and  had  a  spirit  and 
brain  above  her  sex ;  the  Spaniards  therefore  said 
that  she  was  truly  daughter  to  Henri  the  Great. 
The  second  daughter  was  born  at  the  Louvre  on  tlie 
10th  of  February,  1606.  She  was  given  the  name  of 
Christina ;  and  she  espoused  Victor  Amadeo,  Prince 
of  Piedmont,  afterwards  Duke  of  Savoy,  a  prince  of 
the  greatest  virtue  and  capacity.  The  third  was  born 
in  the  same  place,  on  the  25th  of  November,  being 
the  feast  of  St.  Catherine,  in  the  year  1609,  and  was 
named  Hem'iette  Marie.  She  became  the  wife  of  the 
unfortunate  King  of  England,  Charles  Stuart,  whom 
his  subjects  cruelly  despoiled  of  his  royalty  and  life. 

Besides  these  six  legitimate  children,  he  had  eight 
natural  ones,  of  four  different  mistresses,  without 
counting  those  whom  he  did  not  own. 


396  HISTORIC    COURT   ^lEMOIRS. 

By  Gabrielle  d'Estr^es,  Marquise  de  Monceaux 
and  Duchesse  de  Beaufort,  he  had  C^sar,  Due  de 
VendQme,  who  was  born  in  June,  1594  ;  Alexandre, 
Grand  Prior  of  France,  who  died  a  prisoner  of  state ; 
and  Henriette,  married  to  Charles  of  Lorraine,  Due 
d'Elbeuf. 

By  Henriette  de  Balsac  d'Entragues,  whom  he 
made  Marquise  de  Yerneuil,  he  had  Henri,  Bishop 
of  Metz,  and  Gabrielle,  who  espoused  Bernard  of 
Nogaret,  Due  de  Yalette,  afterwards  Duo  d'Epernon. 

To  Jacqueline  de  Bueil,  to  whom  he  gave  the 
county  of  Moret,  was  born  Antoine,  Comte  de  Moret, 
who  was  killed  in  the  service  of  the  Due  d'Orleans 
in  the  battle  of  Castelnaudary,  where  the  Due  de 
Montmorency  was  taken.  This  was  a  young  prince 
whose  spirit  and  courage  promised  much.  Jacqueline 
de  Bueil  was  afterwards  married  to  the  Marquis  de 
Vardes. 

By  Charlotte  d'Essards,  to  whom  he  gave  the  estate 
of  Romorantin,  he  had  two  daughters,  —  Jeanne,  who 
became  Abbess  of  Fontevrault,  and  Marie  Hem-iette. 
He  loved  all  his  children,  legitimate  and  natural,  with 
a  like  affection,  but  with  different  consideration.  He 
would  not  permit  them  to  call  him  Monsieur,  a  name 
which  seemed  to  render  children  strangers  to  their 
fathers,  and  which  denoted  servitude  and  subjection, 
but  he  desired  that  they  should  call  him  papa,  a 
name  of  tenderness  and  love.     And  certainly  in  the 


HENRI   IV.  397 

Old  Testament,  God  took  the  names  of  Lord,  the 
Mighty  God,  the  God  of  Hosts,  and  others,  to  set 
forth  his  greatness  and  power ;  but  in  the  Christian 
law,  which  is  a  law  of  grace  and  charity,  he  com- 
mands us  to  make  our  prayers  as  his  children,  by 
those  sweet  words,  "  Our  Father,  which  art  in  heaven." 

Henri  was  of  middle  stature,  nimble,  active,  and 
hardened  to  labour  and  travel.  His  body  was  well 
formed,  his  temperament  able  and  strong,  and  his 
health  perfect ;  but  about  the  age  of  fifty  years  he  had 
some  slight  attacks  of  the  gout,  but  they  soon  passed 
away,  and  left  behind  them  no  weakness.  His  fore- 
head was  broad,  his  eyes  full  of  vivacity  and  assur- 
ance, his  nose  aquiline,  his  complexion  ruddy,  his 
countenance  sweet  and  noble,  and  yet  withal  his 
presence  warlike  and  martial ;  his  hair  was  brown 
and  very  thin.  He  wore  his  beard  long  and  his  hair 
very  short.  He  began  to  grow  gray  at  the  age  of 
thirty-five  years,  of  which  he  was  accustomed  to  say 
to  those  who  wondered  at  it,  "  It  is  the  wind  of  my 
adversities  which  has  blown  me  this." 

Indeed,  to  consider  well  all  his  life  from  his  very 
birth,  few  princes  will  be  found  who  have  suffered  as 
much  as  he ;  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell  if  he 
had  more  crosses  or  more  prosperities.  He  was  born 
the  son  of  a  king,  but  of  a  king  despoiled  of  his  states. 
He  had  a  mother  who  was  generous  and  courageous, 
but  a  Huguenot  and  an  enemy  of  the  Court.     He 


398  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

gained  the  battle  of  Coutras ;  but  he  lost  shortly  after 
the  Prince  de  Cond^,  his  cousin  and  his  right  hand. 
The  League  stirred  up  his  virtue,  and  made  it  known, 
but  it  nearly  overthrew  him.  Henri  III.  having  called 
him  to  his  assistance,  he  found  himself  at  the  gates  of 
Paris,  as  if  God  had  led  him  by  the  hand ;  but  Paris 
armed  itself  against  him,  and  all  his  hopes  were  almost 
dissipated  by  the  scattering  of  the  army  which  be- 
sieged that  city.  It  was  without  doubt  a  great  piece 
of  good  fortune  that  the  crown  of  France  fell  to  him, 
there  having  never  been  a  succession  more  distant  in 
any  hereditary  state ;  for  there  were  ten  or  eleven 
degrees  between  Henri  III.  and  him,  and  when  he  was 
born  there  were  nine  princes  of  the  blood  before  him: 
King  Henri  11.  and  his  five  sons,  King  Antoine  of 
Navarre,  his  father,  and  two  sons  of  that  Antoine, 
elder  brothers  of  our  Henri.  All  these  princes  died 
to  make  room  for  his  succession.  But  he  found  it  in 
such  a  state  of  confusion  that  we  may  say  he  suffered 
an  infinity  of  labours,  pains,  and  hazards  before  he 
could  gather  the  fair  flowers  of  this  crown.  While 
very  young  he  espoused  the  sister  of  King  Charles, 
which  seemed  a  match  very  advantageous  for  him; 
but  this  marriage  was  a  snare  to  entrap  both  him 
and  his  friends.  Afterwards  that  lady,  instead  of 
being  his  comfort,  became  his  trouble,  and  instead 
of  being  his  honour,  became  his  shame.  His  second 
wife  brought  him  forth  fair  children,  to  his  no  little 


HENRI   IV.  399 

joy ;  but  her  grumblings  and  contempt  were  the  cause 
of  a  thousand  discontents.  He  triumphed  over  all 
his  enemies,  and  became  arbitrator  of  Christendom ; 
but  the  more  powerful  he  made  himself,  the  greater 
became  their  hatred  and  the  more  means  they  sought 
to  destroy  him ;  so  that  after  having  plotted  an  in- 
finite number  of  conspiracies  against  his  life,  they 
found  in  the  end  a  Ravaillac,  who  executed  what  so 
many  others  had  failed  in. 

Now,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  all  these  adver- 
sities which  he  suffered  whetted  his  spirit  and  his 
courage,  and  that  at  last  he  became  the  greatest  of 
kingc,  because  he  came  to  the  crown  through  so  many 
dilficulties  and  at  a  very  mature  age. 

And  certainly  it  is  difficult  and  very  rare  for  those 
who  are  born  to  a  crown,  and  bred  up  in  the  hope  of 
mounting  a  throne  after  the  death  of  their  father,  or 
who  find  themselves  too  soon  raised  to  it,  ever  to  learn 
well  the  art  of  reigning  if  they  be  not  so  happy  as  to 
be  educated  under  the  care  of  a  mother  so  virtuous 
and  so  well-intentioned  as  that  great  queen  who  has 
so  diligently  caused  King  Louis  XI Y.,  her  son,  to  be 
instructed  in  all  good  sentiments  and  in  all  maxims 
of  Christian  policy^  or  so  happy  as  to  be  bles3ed  virith 
a  minister  so  wise  and  so  devoted  to  their  good  as 
that  young  monarch  has  found  in  the  person  of  Car- 
dinal Mazarin. 

The  reasons  for  this  are,  that  commonly  those  per- 


400  HISTORIC    COURT   MEMOIRS. 

sons  into  whose  hands  they  fall  during  the  infancy 
of  the  sovereign,  desiring  to  keep  to  themselves  the 
authority  and  the  government,  instead  of  causing  them 
to  apply  their  minds  to  things  solid  and  necessary,  act 
so  cunningly  that  they  employ  them  only  in  trifles 
unworthy  of  them.  Instead  of  laying  incessantly  be- 
fore their  eyes  the  true  grandeur  of  kings,  which  con- 
sists in  the  exercise  of  their  authority,  they  feed  them 
only  with  appearances  and  images  of  that  greatness,  — 
exterior  pomps  and  magnificences,  wherein  there  is 
only  pride  and  vanity.  In  fact,  instead  of  instructing 
them  diligently  in  what  they  ought  to  know,  and  in 
what  they  ought  to  do  (for  all  the  knowledge  of  kings 
ought  to  be  reduced  to  practice),  they  keep  them  in 
profound  ignorance  of  their  affairs,  that  they  may 
always  be  masters,  and  that  they  may  never  be  able 
to  do  without  them.  Wlience  it  happens  that  a 
prince,  though  he  be  great,  knowing  his  own  weak- 
ness, judges  himself  incapable  to  govern;  and  from 
the  moment  that  he  holds  this  opinion,  he  will  re- 
nounce the  conduct  of  his  State,  if  he  have  not  indeed 
extraordinary  natural  qualities  and  a  heart  truly  royal. 
Moreover,  these  persons  hinder  honest  men  from  ap- 
proaching those  tender  ears ;  or  if  they  cannot  hin- 
der their  approach,  they  render  them  suspected,  and 
deprive  them  of  all  credence  in  the  minds  of  these 
young  princes.  Moreover,  they  have  some  emissaries 
who   infatuate   them  with    flatteries,  with   excessive 


HENRI   IV.  401 

praises  and  adorations ;  who  never  let  them  know 
anything  but  what  shall  serve  their  own  ends ;  who 
accentuate  their  defects  by  continual  adulation;  who 
make  them  believe  they  have  a  perfect  intelligence  of 
all  things  when  they  know  nothing ;  who  make  them 
conceive  that  royalty  is  only  a  sovereign  bauble,  that 
work  befits  not  a  king,  and  that  the  functions  of  gov- 
ernment being  laborious,  are  in  consequence  base  and 
servile.  In  this  manner  they  soon  disgust  them  with 
their  own  command ;  they  accustom  them  to  have 
masters  because  they  have  yet  neither  enough  knowl- 
edge nor  courage  to  be  masters.  And  thus  these  poor 
princes,  never  being  contradicted,  but  always  adored ; 
not  having  any  experience  of  themselves,  nor  ever 
having  suffered  pain  or  necessity,  become  often  pre- 
sumptuous and  absolute  in  their  fancies,  and,  believing 
in  their  right  to  be  considered  as  gods,  they  begin 
to  think  of  nothing  but  their  passion,  pleasure,  and 
caprice,  as  if  mankind  were  created  for  them,  whilst 
they  were  created  to  order  and  govern  mankind  wisely. 
They  let  profusion  and  waste  be  made  of  the  life  and 
goods  of  their  subjects ;  and,  with  an  unparalleled 
insensibility,  take  no  more  notice  of  their  laments 
and  groans  than  of  the  lowings  of  an  ox  whose  throat 
is  being  cut. 

On  the  contrary,  those  who  come  to  the  crown  at 
a  greater  distance  in  relationship,  and  at  a  riper  age, 
are  nearly  always  better  instructed  in  their  affairs. 


402  HISTORIC    COURT  MEMOIRS. 

Thej  apply  themselves  more  strongly  to  govern  their 
states;  they  will  always  hold  the  rudder;  they  are 
more  just,  more  tender,  and  more  merciful;  they 
know  better  how  to  manage  their  revenues;  they 
preserve  with  more  care  the  blood  and  the  goods 
of  their  subjects  ;  they  more  willingly  hear  their  com- 
plaints, and  do  better  justice ;  they  do  not  so  rigor- 
ously use  their  absolute  power,  which  often  makes  the 
people  despair,  and  causes  revolutions. 

If  the  reason  why  they  are  so  be  searched  for,  it 
will  be  found  that  it  is  because  they  have  been  in  a 
place  where  they  have  often  heard  truth ;  where  they 
have  understood  what  ignominy  it  is  for  a  prince  not 
to  enjoy  his  own  personal  power,  but  to  leave  it  to 
another ;  where,  though  they  have  had  some  flatterers, 
they  have  likewise  had  open  enemies,  who  by  censur- 
ing their  faults  have  induced  a  reformation ;  where 
they  have  heard  blamed  the  faults  of  that  government 
under  which  they  were,  and  have  blamed  them  them- 
selves, so  that  they  are  obliged  to  do  better,  and  not 
to  follow  what  they  have  condemned;  where  they 
have  studied  to  govern  themselves  wisely,  because 
they  were  dependents,  and  fearful  of  punishment; 
where  they  have  often  heard  the  complaints  of  indi* 
viduals  and  seen  the  miseries  of  the  people;  and 
where  they  have  miderstood  by  suffering  what  evil  is, 
and  to  have  pity  on  those  who  suffer  injustice,  because 
they  themselves  have  proved  the  rigour  of  a  too  severe 


HENRI   IV.  403 

government.  We  have  two  fair  examples  in  Louis 
XII.,  sm-named  the  "  Father  of  the  People,"  and  in 
our  Henri,  two  of  the  best  kings  who  have  borne  the 
sceptre  of  the  Jleur-de-Us. 

Now  whoever  would  gather  together  and  worthily 
arrange  all  the  heroic  virtues,  noble  actions,  and  emi- 
nent qualities  of  our  Henri  the  Great,  would  make 
him  a  crown  much  more  precious  and  resplendent 
than  that  wherewith  his  head  was  adorned  on  the 
day  of  his  coronation.  That  fund  of  freedom  and 
sincerity,  free  and  exempt  from  malice,  from  gall 
and  bitterness,  should  be  more  precious  than  gold. 
His  renown  and  his  glory,  which  will  never  end, 
should  be  the  circle.  His  victories  of  Coutras,  of 
Arques,  of  Ivry,  of  Fontaine-Fran^aise ;  his  negotia- 
tions of  the  Peace  of  Yervins ;  his  mediation  between 
the  Venetians  and  the  Pope ;  and  between  Spain  and 
the  Low  Countries ;  and  that  great  League  with  all  the 
princes  of  Christendom,  for  execution  of  the  design 
of  which  we  have  spoken,  should  be  the  branches. 
Then  his  warlike  valour,  his  generosity,  his  constancy, 
his  good  faith,  his  wisdom,  his  prudence,  his  activity, 
his  vigilance,  his  economy,  his  justice,  and  a  hundred 
other  virtues,  should  be  the  precious  stones.  Amongst 
these,  that  paternal  and  cordial  love  he  had  for  his 
people  would  cast  a  fire  more  lively  and  bright  than 
the  carbuncle ;  the  firmness  of  his  courage,  always 
invincible  in  danger,  would  bear  the  price  and  beauty 


404  HISTORIC   COURT  MEMOIRS. 

of  a  diamond ;  and  his  unparalleled  clemency,  which 
raised  up  those  whom  his  valour  had  overthrown, 
would  appear  like  an  emerald  which  spreads  joy  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  all  that  behold  it.  To  continue  the 
metaphor,  the  many  wise  laws  which  he  made  for  jus- 
tice, for  police,  and  for  his  revenues ;  the  many  good 
and  useful  establishments  of  all  sorts  of  manufac- 
tures which  produce  to  France  many  millions  yearly ; 
the  many  proud  buildings,  as  the  galleries  of  the 
Louvre,  the  Pont-Neuf,  the  Place  Royale,  the  College 
Royal,  the  quays  for  merchants  on  the  river  Seine, 
Fontainebleau,  Monceaux,  St.  Germain ;  the  many 
public  works,  bridges,  causeways,  highways  repaired ; 
the  many  churches  rebuilt  in  various  places  of  the 
realm,  should  be  as  the  engraving  and  embellish- 
ments. 

Let  us  crown,  then,  with  a  thousand  praises  the 
immortal  memory  of  that  great  King,  the  darling  of 
the  French  and  the  terror  of  the  Spaniards,  the  glory 
of  his  age  and  the  admiration  of  posterity.  Let  us 
make  him  live  in  our  hearts  and  in  our  affections,  in 
spite  of  the  rage  of  those  wicked  persons  who  deprived 
him  of  life.  Let  us  shout  forth  as  many  acclamations 
to  his  glory  as  he  has  done  benefits  to  France.  He 
was  a  Hercules,  who  cut  off  the  head  of  the  Hydra  by 
overturning  the  League.  He  was  greater  than  Alex- 
ander and  greater  than  Pompey,  because  he  was  as 
valiant,  but  he  was  more  just;  he  gained  as  many 


HENRI  IV.  405 

victories,  but  he  gained  more  hearts.  He  conquered 
the  Gauls  as  well  as  Julius  Caesar ;  but  he  conquered 
them  to  give  them  liberty,  while  Caesar  subjugated 
them  to  enslave  them. 


THE   END. 


--.» 


^..  .*^- 


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